Wisdom

Someone asked the Dalai Lama what surprises him the most. This was his response.

”Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never fully lived.”

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“There’s more than one kind of strength. There’s the strength to swim through a lonely and stormy ocean. And there’s the strength to flail your arms and shamelessly shout for help at the top of your lungs. The point is to get out of the water and survive. There’s no wrong way to do that.

Let’s face it, there are very few crises that we must endure alone. It makes little sense to quietly drown out of reticence to bother the lifeguard, or to slog on in solitude through any rough patch when help is within earshot.

Of course it’s nice to be a strong swimmer. But asking for help is strength too. Both forms of strength are good to have. So flail your arms and shout. Throw yourself onto your bed and cry. Whatever it takes. And then, when you’re done, take the next step along the path out of hell.”

-http://babiesornot.blogspot.com/2011/08/on-other-side.html

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“The unknown is what it is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that.  Unknown is what it is.  Accept that it’s unknown, and it’s plain sailing” – John Lennon

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“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.” – Buddha

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“Let body return to body,
Let mind return to mind,
Let being return to being,
Let breath return to breath,
Let all things return to themselves.
All effort comes to an end.
Awareness emerges like blue sky.
Being aware has no self,
Being aware has no time,
In a single moment of awareness,
the whole universe is awakened.” – Tao

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“When you get to the end of all the light you know and it’s time to step ito the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught how to fly”.

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“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” – Mary Engelbreit

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“You do love the members of your own family.  You simply have a very limited view of who your family members are.  You do not consider yourself part of the human family, and so the problems of the human family are not your own.”

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“Get a life.  A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a life in which you stop and watch how a red tailed hawk circles over the water or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a cheerio with her thumb and first finger.

Get a life in which you are not alone.  Find people you love, and who love you.  And remember that love is not leisure, it is work.  Pick up the phone.  Send an email.  Write a letter.

Get a life in which you are generous.  And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted.  Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around.  Take money you would have spent on beers and give it to charity.  Work in a soup kitchen.   Be a big brother or sister.  All of you want to do well.  But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, our minutes.  It is so easy to take for granted the color of our kid’s eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again.  It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

Learn to be happy.

And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy ad passion as it ought to be lived.” – Anna Quindlen, part of her commencement speech

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“In the end, only three things matter…how much we loved, how gently we lived, and how gracefully we let go of the things not meant for us.  – Budda

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