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"I believe in kindness. Also in mischief. Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed."

-Mary Oliver

I shall pass through this world but once

Any good therefore that I can do

Or any kindness that I can show to any human being,

Let me do it now.

Let me not defer nor neglect

For I shall not pass this way again.

Through this toilsome world, alas!

Once and only once I pass;

If a kindness I may show,

If a good deed I may do

To a suffering fellowman,

Let me do it while I can.

No delay, for it is plain

I shall not pass this way again.

Stephen Grellet, 1773-1855

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.  Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

--Mother Teresa

“The greatest gift one can give to God is to be pleased with His creation.”

~ Michael A. Singer

From: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“To receive everything, one must open one's hands and give.”

~ Taisen Deshimaru

Thankful Awareness -

A Thanksgiving Day Message

For many this day can launch your thoughts into fantasy and desire for the “Norman Rockwell” life; the all American dream of a family sitting around the dinner table, getting along beautifully, with all kinds of foods and abundance and love to share.   While some may have this, the majority of people do not.  Holidays bring all kinds of expectations.   The inability to stay with the real and not launch into some form of fantasy is what creates one of the worst kinds of suffering.    Staying close to your feelings, whatever they may be, allows you to stay connected to the real.   In this present state, lies the opportunity to practice awareness and to keep your heart open to whatever presents itself in the day to day moments.  Gratitude can then spring forth when you can see the glorious in life’s simplicity; when you can "see the extraordinary in the ordinary" as my teacher Manorama says.  

Wishing you all the simplicity of seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary today and all days.

~ Nirmala

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks to another day of loving “

~Kahlil Gibran

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating;

to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter;

to be thrilled by the stars at night:

to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring ...

these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”

~ John Burroughs, Naturalist (1837-1921)

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”

~ His Holiness The Dalai Lama

THE SPIRAL

There are hard things to face in our world

today, if we want to be of use. Gratitude,

when it's real, offers no blinders. On the

contrary, in the face of devastation and

tragedy it can ground us, especially when

we're scared. It can hold us steady for the

work to be done.

The activist's inner journey appears to me

like a spiral, inter-connecting four successive

stages or movements that feed into each other.

These four are:

1) opening to gratitude,

2) owning our pain for the world,

3) seeing with new eyes, and

4) going forth.

The sequence repeats itself, as the spiral

circles round, but ever in new ways. The spiral

is fractal in nature: it can characterize a

lifetime or a project, and it can also happen

in a day or several times a day.

The spiral begins with gratitude, because that

quiets the frantic mind and brings us back to

source. It reconnects us with basic goodness

and our personal power. It helps us to be more

fully present to our world. That grounded

presence provides the psychic space for

acknowledging the pain we carry for our world.

In owning this pain, and daring to experience

it, we learn that our capacity to "suffer with"

is the true meaning of compassion. We begin to

know the immensity of our heart-mind and how it

helps us to move beyond fear. What had isolated

us in private anguish now opens outward and

delivers us into wider reaches of our world as

lover, world as self.

The truth of our inter-existence, made real to

us by our pain for the world, helps us see with

new eyes. It brings fresh understandings of who

we are and how we are related to each other and

the universe. We begin to comprehend our own

power to change and heal. We strengthen by growing

living connections with past and future generations,

and our brother and sister species.

Then, ever again, we go forth into the action that

calls us. With others whenever and wherever possible,

we set a target, lay a plan, step out. We don't wait

for a blueprint or fail-proof scheme; for each step

will be our teacher, bringing new perspectives and

opportunities. Even when we don't succeed in a given

venture, we can be grateful for the chance we took

and the lessons we learned. And the spiral begins

again.

Joanna Macy

From 'Gratitude - Where Healing the Earth Begins'

"Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you."

~ Eileen Caddy

The Art of Not Being Offended

There is an ancient and well-kept secret to happiness which the Great Ones have known for centuries. They rarely talk about it, but they use it all the time, and it is fundamental to good mental health. This secret is called The Fine Art of Not Being Offended. In order to truly be a master of this art, one must be able to see that every statement, action and reaction of another human being is the sum result of their total life experience to date.

In other words, the majority of people in our world say and do what they do from their own set of fears, conclusions, defenses and attempts to survive. Most of it, even when aimed directly at us, has nothing to do with us. Usually, it has more to do with all the other times, and in particular the first few times, that this person experienced a similar situation, usually when they were young.

Yes, this is psychodynamic. But let's face it, we live in a world where psychodynamics are what make the world go around. An individual who wishes to live successfully in the world as a spiritual person really needs to understand that psychology is as spiritual as prayer. In fact, the word psychology literally means the study of the soul.

All of that said, almost nothing is personal.  Even with our closest loved ones, our beloved partners, our children and our friends. We are all swimming in the projections and filters of each other's life experiences and often we are just the stand-ins, the chess pieces of life to which our loved ones have their own built-in reactions. This is not to dehumanize life or take away the intimacy from our relationships, but mainly for us to know that almost every time we get offended, we are actually just in a misunderstanding.

A true embodiment of this idea actually allows for more intimacy and less suffering throughout all of our relationships. When we know that we are just the one who happens to be standing in the right place at the right psychodynamic time for someone to say or do what they are doing—we don't have to take life personally. If it weren't us, it would likely be someone else.

This frees us to be a little more detached from the reactions of people around us. How often do we react to a statement of another by being offended rather than seeing that the other might actually be hurting? In fact, every time we get offended, it is actually an opportunity to extend kindness to one who may be suffering—even if they themselves do not appear that way on the surface. All anger, all acting out, all harshness, all criticism, is in truth a form of suffering. When we provide no Velcro for it to stick, something changes in the world. We do not even have to say a thing. In fact, it is usually better not to say a thing.

People who are suffering on the inside, but not showing it on the outside, are usually not keen on someone pointing out to them that they are suffering. We do not have to be our loved one's therapist. We need only understand the situation and move on. In the least, we ourselves experience less suffering and at best, we have a chance to make the world a better place.

This is also not to be confused with allowing ourselves to be hurt, neglected or taken advantage of. True compassion does not allow harm to ourselves either. But when we know that nothing is personal, a magical thing happens. Many of the seeming abusers of the world start to leave our lives. Once we are conscious, so-called abuse can only happen if we believe what the other is saying. When we know nothing is personal, we also do not end up feeling abused. We can say, "Thank you for sharing," and move on. We are not hooked by what another does or says, since we know it is not about us.

When we know that our inherent worth is not determined by what another says, does or believes, we can take the world a little less seriously. And if necessary, we can just walk away without creating more misery for ourselves or having to convince the other person that we are good and worthy people.

The great challenge of our world is to live a life of contentment, regardless of what other people do, say, think or believe. The fine art of not being offended is one of the many skills for being a practical mystic. Though it may take a lifetime of practice, it is truly one of the best kept secrets for living a happy life.

~ By Dr. Jodi Prinzivalli

This Place of Abundance

We know nothing until we know everything.

I have no object to defend

for all is of equal value

to me.

I cannot lose anything in this

place of abundance

I found.

If something my heart cherishes

is taken away,

I just say "Lord, what

happened?"

And a hundres more

appear.

St Catherine (1347-1380)

From Love Poems From God - Daniel Ladinsky

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In the Storm

Some black ducks

were shrugged up

on the shore.

It was snowing

hard, from the east,

and the sea

was in disorder.

Then some sanderlings,

five inches long

with beaks like wire,

flew in,

snowflakes on their backs,

and settled

in a row

behind the ducks --

whose backs were also

covered with snow --

so close

they were all but touching,

they were all but under

the roof of the duck's tails,

so the wind, pretty much,

blew over them.

They stayed that way, motionless,

for maybe an hour,

then the sanderlings,

each a handful of feathers,

shifted, and were blown away

out over the water

which was still raging.

But, somehow,

they came back

and again the ducks,

like a feathered hedge,

let them

crouch there, and live.

If someone you didn't know

told you this,

as I am telling you this,

would you believe it?

Belief isn't always easy.

But this much I have learned --

if not enough else --

to live with my eyes open.

I know what everyone wants

is a miracle.

This wasn't a miracle.

Unless, of course, kindness --

as now and again

some rare person has suggested --

is a miracle.

As surely it is.

~ Mary Oliver

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is

you must lose things,

feel the future dissolve in a moment

like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,

what you counted and carefully saved,

all this must go so you know

how desolate the landscape can be

between the regions of kindness.

How you ride and ride

thinking the bus will never stop,

the passengers eating maize and chicken

will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,

you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho

lies dead by the side of the road.

you must see how this could be you,

how he too was someone

who journeyed through the night with plans

and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow.

You must speak to it till your voice

catches the thread of all sorrows

and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,

only kindness that ties your shoes

and sends you out into the day to mail letters and

purchase bread,

only kindness that raises its head

from the crowd of the world to say

it is I you have been looking for,

and then goes with you every where

like a shadow or a friend

Naomi Shihab Nye

From The Words Under the Words: Selected Poems