happiness – Generous Wisdom

Thomas Merton

Hi, Friends,

I’ve been slowing down and practicing aparigraha to the best of my ability. Every moment can be challenging! I want to share with you one of my favorite quotes. Let’s use it as food for the Advent journey.

Image result for contentment — via google images

“One who is content with what he has and who accepts the fact that he inevitably misses very much in life is far better off than the one who has much more but who worries about all he might be missing. For we cannot make the best of what we are if our heart are always divided between what we are and what we are not.

We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony. Let us therefore learn to pass from one imperfect activity to another without worrying too much about what we are missing.”

~ Thomas Merton

Catch the Sky

It is not ubiquitous,
not demanding or dark,
not boisterous or boring,
but kind and content,
this quietude, this inner equanimity,
this rarity, this royal rock,
this silent, still,
radiance of peace;
it comes out of wind,
a dove in free-fall catching
the sky with its wings
and liting on the soul,
this heart-space,
this ever-present entity
of light and love;
it is the wind, it is the sky,
it is the bird, the heart,
the peaceful soul.

Contrary

Contrary to what we often times believe, we make other people happy. Because of this, it is our duty to be as selfless as we can manage.

~ ALS

Inspired by D. George Secrist’s request during my yoga practice, and his subsequent giggle upon my acquiescence:

“Watch me, Mommy…Come ‘ere a second…Watch me!” he said, patting the step next to him.

I sat and watched him roll small metal and plastic cars and tractors down a blue yoga mat that had been unrolled along the bottom three stairs. Each time the cars landed on the carpet, he looked at me, waiting. And when I smiled, his shoulders squeezed up to his ears, and his giggle spilled out enormous amounts of love not just from his toes, but from his deepest core.

It is in moments like these that we live the truth of giving’s excellence over receiving.

The flip side, of course, is that if we make others happy, we also have the capability to make them unhappy. And so we must practice awareness at all times, not just when we feel like it. This is the hard work! This is yoga off the mat.