After two weeks I am finally breathing easier ~ ~ ~
Wanted to share these "in-spirations"
and the beautiful Amaryllis blossom
that bloomed while I was ill... ;)
“The greatest service I can
perform is to inspire…
Gently shift your attention from what is happening
to that space it happens in -
the SPACE of Existence…
Existence itself is a miracle!
Whatever happens in this Existence is insubstantial,
ever changing,
never better or worse,
worth neither to be grasped or rejected…
The space in which this world is
happening,
the air of pure Existence,
is complete,
overflowing with joy,
and utterly divine.
The space is without taint or boundary.
It is motionless, silent and self-luminous.
Usually our attention is absorbed
by what is happening,
and so we lose the simple innocent
awareness of
the Existence in which it happens.
Existence becomes the background to the play of forms
that rise and change and disappear.
But in the awakened view,
which is the clearest simplest view,
Existence becomes the foreground,
and the forms of the world sink into the background.
…into the still boundless space of
Existence…
The greatest miracle is
the gift of Existence.
At every moment,
the answer to any problem
is to just observe
the dance of
Existence”
Fred LaMotte
~*~
“Don’t judge your sorrow too
quickly or too harshly, friend.
Honouring the darkness within is not the same as ‘wallowing’,
and cultivating deep trust in all of life’s movements does not
equate to self-indulgence or a ‘pity party.’
Please do not misunderstand this.
Find a space in your heart for the
unwanted,
the unloved,
the rejected
aspects of experience.
If we refuse to plumb the depths
we are left only half alive,
however ‘enlightened’ we claim to be.
Artists, musicians, poets
of all cultures throughout the ages
have understood this.
See your life as an art gallery,
friend.
Embrace the full spectrum of experience,
from the light to the dark.
Hold it all in your prayers,
illuminate it all with the light of
loving awareness.
Be that awareness!
Perhaps your sorrow is there to
remind you
of the joy that is about to burst forth.
Perhaps the contraction you feel
in your body is about to give way
to glorious expansion.
Perhaps your frustration
just wants to frustrate itself fully
and be felt, fully.
Perhaps this moment contains
no mistake!
Perhaps the relief you will feel
in time will be infinitely sweeter
for having suffered so deeply.
Perhaps your suffering is
teaching you
humility,
gratitude,
quietude,
and
compassion
- and trust -
unbreakable trust
in life’s strange processes.
Don’t judge your sadness,
your depression,
your feelings,
[your illness]…
And don’t judge
the process of another,
for you really don’t know
what’s best for anyone,
and you really don’t know
more than life itself.
That which you reject
(in another or yourself)
may actually be
much-needed medicine,
a misunderstood teacher,
inviting you to an
awakening
deeper
than
you
ever
thought
possible.
It may be a threshold
guardian,
a gatekeeper
of a forgotten
kingdom.
Oh,
the glory of
a life
fully
felt!
And to your demons,
say –
Namaste!”
Jeff Foster
~*~
These quotes inspired me during
my recent illness.
As usual I put them in the form of a poem,
but they were not written as poetry,
although they seem like poetry to me :)
