Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend.

-- Melody Beattie

 Your confusion is not pathology, it is path. It has something to show you that clarity could never reveal. The nature of chaos is wisdom, but you must provide a home for it to receive its mysteries.

Your feeling of disconnection is not neurotic, it is intelligent. It has something to show you that oneness could never reveal. If you will practice ( Read more... )

Wash the dishes relaxingly, as though each bowl is an object of contemplation. Consider each bowl as sacred. Follow your breath to prevent your mind from straying. Do not try to hurry to get the job over with. Consider washing the dishes the most important thing in life.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

1.  Portland has the best Bitters.  From fresh strong coffee to extremely hoppy IPA's, to unique herbal blends to add to your cocktail, you will not find a town with more depth and variety in its bitter beverages and flavors.  Asheville, NC would like to claim that it is a beer capital of the US, but all they did was win an online survey.  Anyone ( Read more... )

I just heard her dispatch some squeaking thing.  I did not get up to save it from her.  She is probably licking her chops right now, having just chomped down the last bite.  Maybe it was a baby rabbit.  It squeaked like one ( Read more... )

When I have a morning at home alone I work on my lists and I fall into my practice more easily.  The sun is streaming in and I am doing triage on piles of "urgent" items which have become buried under a stream of distractions and amusements like my nonstop study of public health.  One observation this morning is that the strong balancing poses ( Read more... )

( I've been thinking about this and here is where I land. )

Boy was it nice to be out there for a while. No electricity, no flush toilets, no internet. Just fast cold water, snowy peaks, giant ponderosas, steep grasslands, birds of prey and sand beaches out there. But I'm back in town. I'm sick, too, but on the mend finally today. Somebody brought a cold to share on the trip, and most of us got it. I ( Read more... )

Twenty eight percent (28%) of US households are now just one person living alone. This is the most ever. These singles are the biggest spenders, contributing 1.9 trillion to "the economy" each year. (According to The Week 2/10/12 which is in turn quoting Fortune magazine ( Read more... )

OK, where is this place?
( my brain is storming about my new home and practice )