Eternity

He who binds to himself a joy 

Does the winged life destroy; 

But he who kisses the joy as it flies 

Lives in eternity's sun rise.

by William Blake

Anyway

The Paradoxical Commandments

by Dr. Kent M. Keith


People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001

All the time in the world

Restlessness. The urge to move, wanting to leave, do something else, be other than… This energy creeping in my body. Been sensing this restless feeling while meditating recently. Its not really obvious, but underlying, like a quiet whisper. Like I don't really have time for this. Saying softly to myself:

You have all the time in the world. Please, just sit down
Listen
Listen to the sounds. The silence
Please sit down
All the time in the world

Ways to cross life's floods!

I'm reading a really helpful book right now. Parami -ways to cross life's floods. By Ajahn Sucitto. I really recommend it. This book helps me building a path out of suffering and stress. It's easy to follow and by reading it slowly and taking in the instructions I have trust this will help me on the way.  As said in the book:
This is done by using a set of instructions (paramitas) to cultivate skillful actions in your everyday life so you can "steer your life out of the floods".
In the Theravada tradition there are ten paramitas (different schools of Buddhists selected different qualities to be parami - these ten are Theravada designated):

Dhana (generosity)
Sila (morality)
Nekkhamma (renunciation)
Panna (discernment/wisdom)
Viriya (energy)
Khanti (patience)
Sacca (truthfulness)
Adhittana (resolve)
Metta (kindness)
Upekkha (equanimity)

Life always gives...

“Life always gives us 

exactly the teacher we need 

at every moment. 

This includes every mosquito, 

every misfortune, 

every red light, 

every traffic jam, 

every obnoxious supervisor (or employee), 

every illness, every loss, 

every moment of joy or depression, 

every addiction, 

every piece of garbage, 

every breath.

Every moment is the guru.”

― Charlotte Joko Beck

Make life simple

You yourself have made your life complex. You have entangled yourself in this quagmire. You have multiplied your wants and desires. Every day you are forging new links in the chain of bondage. Simplicity has vanished. Luxurious habits are daily developed.
Swami Sivananda

The way out of suffering

I have recently started to paint Mandalas. I find it very meditative. I usually meditate before painting. Starting with a blank paper, drawing a circle around a plate and then sometimes draw shapes and filling them, sometimes just paint inside the blank circle. Colors are chosen intuitively. I find it interesting to watch what colors are chosen and try to observe what's happening in the body while painting them. This is #6 called Filling out.

"We're turning around huge momentums. You got to work on it and it takes basic strength, basic heart and basic clarity. There's your team. "

from The way out of suffering, stress (Ajahn Sucitto)