“True acceptance will transmute negative feelings of anxiety and resentment.”
Eckhart Tolle
meditation
The Antidote
She told me she wakes up anxious. I recommended writing five things she is grateful for first thing in the morning – every morning – before she does anything. Just two weeks in, she said she feels happier each day.
Gratitude can replace worry.
Cone Flowers
Almost Done
“Carlos and Minji accepted his apology and they all were friends once again.” p. 36 of Kevin the Complainer
Kevin the Complainer
In the silence that followed, Kevin felt calmer. Lily’s reaction (or, rather, lack of reaction) to his complaints gave him space to think.
She left a lot of space.
And he realized that he just might be wrong.
Blind Contour #1
Day one of Creative Living Challenge
Rules: Don’t look at your paper as you draw and don’t lift the pen.
(I cheated a couple times.)
Nat’s Final Rule
“Make positive effort for the good.”
Natalie Goldberg (quoting her Zen master)
Get up out of bed.
Brush your teeth.
Pick up the pen and start writing.
Nat’s Second Rule
“Don’t be tossed away by your monkey mind. You say you want to do something—“I really want to be a writer”—then that little voice comes along, “but I might not make enough money as a writer.” “Oh, okay, then I won’t write.” That’s being tossed away. These little voices are constantly going to be nagging us. If you make a decision to do something, you do it. Don’t be tossed away. But part of not being tossed away is understanding your mind, not believing it so much when it comes up with all these objections and then loads you with all these insecurities and reasons not to do something.”
Natalie Goldberg
Loss Can Lead to Awakening
“For many people, illness – loss of health – represents the crisis situation that triggers an awakening. With serious illness comes awareness of your own mortality, the greatest loss of all.”
Eckhart Tolle
Real Force
“Our life is shaped by our mind.”
Lord Buddha
Kismet 