Doesn’t everything die at last and to soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life.* Mary Oliver
My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.** Oliver Sacks
Perhaps there is much still to happen within and through us, An unfolding, tendril-like, from our deep gratitude and residue of days, Even for the joy of others.
Wandering is a form of exploration that we often think to embrace only when travelling, but it has great value on a more daily basis … Sometimes we must choose to leave our maps behind.* Rohit Bhargava
When you walk in peace, you are overwhelmed by the wonder of the universe and the beauty of life.** Erwin McManus
Maps offer a narrow way of seeing the world, and ourselves, and others, and god – Openness is wandering, Wandering is openness, is the possibility of surprise and the surprise of possibility … and connection, unfolding into beauty and peace.
When we embrace flexible, renewable, and diverse approaches, we create actual progress.** Seth Godin
Before you react, Or respond, you may want to
pause.
Is this really what you want to say do think feel?
In the pause, there’s at least a confirmation that this is best, but, More likely, There’s a better word action idea emotion.
We get to choose, That’s the point of the pause, And we all have it, though it must be used and trained^ to become the power for life that it can be.
*Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny; *Seth Godin’s blog: Strength through resilience; ^We may explore practising silence, stillness, detachment, and noticing as immediate responses, stretching the space between stimulus and response.
Gratitude is how we acknowledge our humble place in the universe, our place in the big dance.* gapingvoid
Stoic joy – the joy that comes from purpose, excellence, and duty. it’s a serious thing …** Ryan Holiday
I am grateful to be here, the odds were stacked against me (and I would have no idea had they won, But they didn’t); even so ingratitude comes too easily – I don’t want to be a moaning ninny – so I work on my thankfulness, I admit my knowledge of what I can see and hear and touch and smell and taste, All that is other, all that is more than my casual glance might afford, I see how I can increase my gratefulness through purpose and mastery and responsibility, how I may not only dwell thankfully now, but in my past and future, too.
Gratitude works. Gratitude scales. Gratitude creates a positive cycle of more gratitude. When in doubt, default to gratitude.^
He who cannot howl, will not find his pack.* Charles Simic
As the tamed horse still hears the call of her wild brothers and as the farmed goose flaps hopeful wings as his sisters fly overhead, so too, perhaps, the wild ones amongst us are our only hope in calling us back to our true nature.** Joel McKerrow
Why can’t we be more like the “good” children? Why can’t we just learn like all the others? Why all the questions? Why can’t we fit in? Why can’t we just do our job? Why can’t we enjoy having a good time and being comfortable? Why can’t we admit we’re just too old for that? Why can’t we not be trouble to others?
howl Howl HOWL – Inside, Deep down, struggling to keep it in – Got to let it out.
I hear your howl,^ Can you hear mine?
*Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ Women Who Run With the Wolves; **The Northumbria Community‘s Morning Prayer: meditation for Day 29; ^A howl is my epithet for real possibility for our lives, not normally found on our civilised job lists.
Where do your own real thoughts come from? How can we access them? From what source does our true, authentic self speak?* Steven Pressfield
How does your ruling reason manage itself? For in that is the key to every thing. Whatever else remains, be it in the power of your choice or not, it is but a corpse and smoke.** Marcus Aurelius
We have so many thoughts running through our heads – All the time, thoughts thoughts thoughts.
Take a moment to notice them – They’re happening without any help from you or me.
There are other thoughts, though, The ones that belong to this Noticer of thoughts.
Notice what feeds these thoughts, create habits for exploring and expanding these sources.
When we write these important thoughts down, we separate them from all the others, to play with them, towards the sentences we want to give life to.
Who knows what will then turn up in our words and phrases and sentences.
Discovering your Self in language is always an epiphany, even if finding the worlds to describe your inner reality can be an agonising process.^
Revision isn’t only the act of composition. Revision is thinking applied to language, An opening and reopening of discovery, A search for the sentence that says the thing you had no idea you would say.^^
A life of obligation and no opportunity is crimped. A life of opportunity and no obligation is hollow. A life that fuses opportunity and obligation is true.** Daniel Pink
Some people as they grow up become less … Other people as they grow up become more.^ Eugene Peterson
Opportunity creates obligation, and obligation stimulates opportunity;^^ These we welcome so that we may continue becoming more no matter our age.
The universe is not a closed system, It is open, participatory – unfolding in real time. It does not speak in words, but in patterns and presence. It reveals itself through relation.* AleXander McManus
One of the simplest ways for us to see more of what we are not seeing is to engage with people who are positioned at other places in the system and are therefore seeing things from different perspectives.** Adam Kahane
Time for exploring awe gardening walking listening being opening conversation play discovery valuing imagining collaboration making more.
(Something strange happened with the post this morning, so I’m reposting.)
It is here where the synergistic interplay of courage, wisdom, and generosity make us most creative.* Erwin McManus
The person who is at ease within finds every other space larger and more enjoyable.** James Clear
May you be your higher self today, At home with your talents, your energies, your values, not having to prove yourself, being selfless rather than taking risks, generous instead of vaunting resources, wise rather than clever.
It’s while it’s being alive that life is immortal, while it’s still alive.* Marguerite Duras
Sufis speak of their nafs, or the false self that takes the place of the soul. Somewhat more complicated than the concept of the ego, the nafs refers to all that in ourselves which has become an object for others or for ourselves. It is our visible self, the tangible, public aspect of a personality.** James Carse
We will not succumb to the Matrix, Life is too precious to live behind some prosopon worn to ourselves and others, nor will be force others to be less than they can be: May each of us be unexpected.
THIN|SILENCE 
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