Every Day Zen
If there must be thoughts--and there always are--be thoughtful, I tell myself. Rather than “winding yourself up,” just stay present. Mindful. Keep yourself confined to the day you have. You live nowhere else. I often find myself mucking about on low energy days. Going nowhere. They’re a bit of a slippery slope, if I wander... Continue Reading →
Things to Think Think in ways you've never thought before. If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message Larger than anything you've ever heard, Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats. Think that someone may bring a bear to your door, Maybe wounded and deranged; or think that a moose Has risen... Continue Reading →
I find solace in curiosity, in knowing each moment is unique. No matter how many times I perform a certain task, in this moment the experience is new. Who knows how it may all turn out. What I’m discovering is that if I stay curious, equanimity is not as difficult--even in the really hard moments,... Continue Reading →
I confine myself to the canvas of the day I have. It is not without a frame but I don’t feel constricted. Just the opposite. I look out on a field of possibilities. Some I will know this day--others maybe never--yet what any other day holds does not occupy my mind. My curiosity is only... Continue Reading →
On days I that am a bit bemused, as I often am, I look to the beauty of a map, not so much for what it defines but for the life and lands outside its purview. More than once, a map has shown me possibilities, if not a direct route. I still prefer paper maps... Continue Reading →
Curiosity is the key that opens the life experience for us. The path is the obstacle; the obstacle is the path. Either way, curiosity unlocks doors. Every time we enter, we change. We face transformation, accepting who and what we are. Transformation is a lifetime practice, and it is never too late to be who... Continue Reading →
I woke up weary. It happens. If I’m not mindful, the day will get lost in “if only”--escape scenarios--unsettled energy, swirling first in one direction then another, a day of chase. I am reminded of Pema Chodron’s observation regarding Buddhist teachings: they keep telling us we “don’t have a lot of time to waste.” That... Continue Reading →
Birthday. For so many years it has been an accounting, a reckoning, always a measurement. Not this year. I am reminded of Georgia O’Keeffe’s “to see takes time.” So many gifts are given and received in a lifetime, which lasts no longer than a single moment. Existence is energy animating you, me, a blade of... Continue Reading →
A wilderness journey may await each one of us, and age has little to do with when we begin. What is important is that we make the trip. Taking that first step is often a journey in itself for all that follows defines that moment. Sooner is not always better. Maybe going into the wild... Continue Reading →
“Follow your curiosity down those rabbit holes” is this Sunday morning’s sentiment--”embrace your inner wiring…” (Emilie Wapnick). It is a favorite feeling, familiar and relished, to trek down a rabbit hole. Curiosity liberates— its core passionate--an authenticity not always allowed. Why not? But I am on my way down the rabbit hole and though not late,... Continue Reading →
Aim For Even: The Daily Dose 