Tag Archives: Recreation

You’re probably a dog…

English: sleeping dog

“Yes, we have these great ideals about how we’ve supposed to be [...] we don’t have to pretend that our irritablity is not there or compare it unfavorably with our ideal version of ourselves. We could simply take a breath and say, “This is how I am — this is anger, this is fear, this is irritation.” [...] In that regard I would like to read to you my new favorite little piece: “If you can sit quietly after difficult news, if in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm, if you can see your neighbors travel to fantastic places without a twinge of jealousy, if you can happily eat whatever is put on your plate and fall asleep after a day of running around without a drink or a pill, if you can always find contentment just where you are, you are probably a dog.”

Out of the Cave

Morning-Reverence-DSC02876

When you have been

at war with yourself

for so many years that

you have forgotten why,

when you have been driving

for hours and only

gradually begin to realize

that you have lost the way,

when you have cut

hastily into the fabric,

when you have signed

papers in distraction,

when it has been centuries

since you watched the sun set

or the rain fall, and the clouds,

drifting overhead, pass as flat

as anything on a postcard;

when, in the midst of these

everyday nightmares, you

understand that you could

wake up,

you could turn

and go back

to the last thing you

remember doing

with your whole heart:

that passionate kiss,

the brilliant drop of love

rolling along the tongue of a green leaf,

then you wake,

you stumble from your cave,

blinking in the sun,

naming every shadow

as it slips.

via From Out the Cave by Joyce Sutphen | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor.

If this poem resonates with you, you might enjoy this meditation from Tara Brach; Stepping out of the cave…

Don’t believe what you hear about black cats

The most beautiful animal I ever owned [actually, she owned me!] was a black cat named Boo; far from bringing bad luck, they bring love and affection for those that love them. Now that I know the shelter has a hard time finding homes for them, after Halloween I’m going to adopt some more!

Full story at: Don’t believe what you hear about black cats.

Dreams

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Melody Beattie writes:

“I want a new home. a great job. and lots of money” one man said.

“What practical steps are you taking to help that happen?” I asked.

“I’m not very good at practical steps,” he said. “But I’m an expert at dreams.”

It’s important to fantasize. but if you want your fantasies to materialize. you have to take practical steps. Turn dreams into achievable written goals.

It takes courage to go for what we want. Giving some­thing our all. then failing, is a risk. Anyone I know who has accomplished anything of value has failed on the road to success.

Challenge: The hardest thing about going for our goals, hopes, and dreams can be fighting off that part of us that says, “What’s the use?” Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things when they make a choice to do something, then surrender to God’s Will.“ via October 25.

Related articles

The lesson may be a test

Sometimes, problems and challenges come to move us to the next place in our lives. Sometimes, they come to challenge and reinforce what we already know and believe.

Maybe that problem in your life has come along to teach you something new.

Maybe it’s an opportunity to remember and practice what you already know to be true.

Push against the problem. Push your ideals and beliefs against what’s going on. Examine what you think, believe, and feel. Stay open to change. But remember that, sometimes, it’s not about changing what you believe. It’s an opportunity for you to validate yourself and your beliefs.

We’re not always learning something new. Sometimes, the lesson is to remember and trust what we already know.

God, help me to be open to change, help me also to stand fast by my beliefs when they are right.” via Just For Today Meditations » Blog.

See it Simple

God, if I’m complicating a task or making it too big and unmanage­able in my mind, help me to simplify what I see.

 

 

God, if I’m complicating a task or making it too big and unmanage­able in my mind, help me to simplify what I see.

Melody Beattie writes:

“It’s too much,” I said to my instructor. “Jumping out of a plane is too much for my mind to comprehend.”

“Then keep it simple,” he said. “Break it down into parts. You have the ride up, where you practice relaxing, your exit, your free-fall time; then you deploy your parachute. Then you decide if it’s working or if you need to go to plan B. Next set up your landing pattern. When you get near the ground, pull your strings and flare.”

I could handle the steps, but the big picture of jumping out of an airplane was too much to envision. But exiting, falling stable, pulling, and flaring were simple parts that felt man­ageable. My mind could comprehend these simple tasks.

You may never make a skydive. Or maybe you will. But there’s a lot of things in life that seem like too much if we try to see them all as one big thing. I never thought I could stay sober and drug-free for twenty-seven years. But with God’s help and the help of the program, I believed I could refrain from using drugs and alcohol for twenty-four hours. Then the next day, I got up and believed the same thing again.

There have been times I didn’t think I could start my life over. But I could get up in the morning and do the things I thought best for that day.

Are you facing something now in your life that feels too overwhelming? Then simplify it. Break it down into manage­able parts until you can see how simple it is.

God, if I’m complicating a task or making it too big and unmanage­able in my mind, help me to simplify what I see.” via September 5: See it Simple.