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Gratefulness
I felt blessed by having the good fortune of being the recipient of the kindness, understanding, generosity, and compassionate approach that a government department worker extended to her clients. She was always one step ahead, and able to guide me through challenging situations and the processes. She was always on my side. As I reflect– when I am the benefactor of someone’s skills and knowledge that seem to emanate from their intention to enable the well being of others I live in a safe...
I felt blessed by having the good fortune of being the recipient of the kindness, understanding, generosity, and compassionate approach that a government department worker extended to her clients. She was always one step ahead, and able to guide me through challenging situations and the processes. She was always on my side. As I reflect– when I am the benefactor of someone’s skills and knowledge that seem to emanate from their intention to enable the well being of others I live in a safer kinder world. This is not the norm for that government department. The question arises: why is this not the norm, why is this the exception. It is disturbing to know that it was all up to good fortune. Hmm– it is also good fortune that I had a good role model for how one person’s beliefs and values and intentions can have a beneficial effect on building a safer kinder world one person at a time.
I know I should write freedom. Yet right now I’m caught up with my inner critic and I know that this is a challenge within me, and me alone. And I know that there is no one to blame. And, even though my thinking mind knows the Chan teaching of ‘The person in my mind is not the real person’ I’m still blaming the installer instead of doing the investigative and transformative and self compassionate work etc of letting go. So at this moment I’m in stuck...
I know I should write freedom. Yet right now I’m caught up with my inner critic and I know that this is a challenge within me, and me alone. And I know that there is no one to blame. And, even though my thinking mind knows the Chan teaching of ‘The person in my mind is not the real person’ I’m still blaming the installer instead of doing the investigative and transformative and self compassionate work etc of letting go. So at this moment I’m in stuckness. So there is another key that needs to be heard. So, I’m in the learning to listen phase of learning about forgiveness.
see how many thoughts I have today are a result of conditioning to accept that these social constructs only exist to serve a privilege or benefit for some at the expense of the well being of another…. The challenge– how can I remember to be mindful of this?
hmm I invest in what I value– hmm- only invest if there is a perceived benefit– physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual–or the body-heart-mind I value my happiness, belonging/inclusion, my physical well being( safety, health), making a contribution that benefits others, human rights, fairness, kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, mindfulness, patience, generosity, guidance and support, relationships/ connection, learning, beauty… being human, …. hmm now I’ve co...
hmm I invest in what I value– hmm- only invest if there is a perceived benefit– physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual–or the body-heart-mind I value my happiness, belonging/inclusion, my physical well being( safety, health), making a contribution that benefits others, human rights, fairness, kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, mindfulness, patience, generosity, guidance and support, relationships/ connection, learning, beauty… being human, …. hmm now I’ve come back to my values benefit me and the benefits are the investment. As I re-read this– change is what I need to place a higher value on
the possibility needs courage, so on to the possibility of courage 🙂
As I read the reflections and reflect on my life experiences I hear the echo. Anytime there occurs the giving, or is it sharing, of kindness, joy, compassion, and steadfast mind, in any form, there is the receiving. In the receiving, everyone including myself and maybe everything, rises to who they really are. The challenge is to be skillful when giving and forgiving when skills are less than what is needed to make the intended difference.
explore self compassion
find some aspect of compassion within myself for what ever the other is suffering and wishing for themselves
First I must be cognizant that I am suffering, then I must seek to know the nature of my suffering: how it feels in my body, my thoughts and emotions, hear a story and let go of the story. How to get to the nurturing, especially when there is nothing to be done, either by limited resources or by what is, to alleviate the suffering. There is only to reach for self-compassion.
Today I had the opportunity to learn about this finding of joy. I practiced meta in the midst of my irritation and some worry. I had to keep coming back to it. I had to keep choosing. And then surprise, a kind of Joy was waiting there for me.
May I welcome my anger, frustration, disapproval, fear and despair as well as I welcome joy, happiness, delight, contentment, compassion, safety, and hope.
I did or do. And often unbeknownst to myself, I did or do with every thought, word and action. Maybe, if I develop the capacity of sustaining an equanimous mind/body/heart I will then to be open to being touched by everyone and everything, allowing for life, good/bad, happy/sad, to flow through me. It seems that every time I seek to understand self or other, every meditation and contemplation and moment of mindfulness the outcome is unexpected… a mystery And then there were the ...
I did or do. And often unbeknownst to myself, I did or do with every thought, word and action. Maybe, if I develop the capacity of sustaining an equanimous mind/body/heart I will then to be open to being touched by everyone and everything, allowing for life, good/bad, happy/sad, to flow through me. It seems that every time I seek to understand self or other, every meditation and contemplation and moment of mindfulness the outcome is unexpected… a mystery And then there were the Facebook friends that I don’t know personally who shared their life experiences with grief and despair that helped me to re-align to my North Star.
Carol Bast relationships, meditation opens the door to the space of many aspects of appreciation, adventures, novelty, successes, experiencing delight, meeting my needs, …
I am human.
be it pain or pleasure, remember, seek the treasure
myself
an animated clip art of a giant multicoloured finger pointing out to the onlooker– caption– Hey You, Yes You! You have a beautiful smile!
look for the treasures, be mindful,
Getting to the space where there is stillness, gives rise to being able to look out with fresh eyes, where everything is more alive and vibrant. Making this the habit of mind is a goal.
yes, same here on both counts. Of late, I’m more into being mindful of the obstacles and growing in the capacity to notice and sustain this sense of stillness.
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