to rediscover joy
Look deeply to understand clearly
Listen deeply to truly love.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
This year has been almost unimaginably rough so far. There are also some inescapable hard things ahead. I've checked with the Magic 8-Ball ("ask again later"), read the tea leaves (I don't know what each clump means, but the tea itself was good), and done some thinking.
In the end I've come to an important conclusion: I don't (and can't) know when the next hard thing is going to hit. All I can do is prepare myself as best I can to ride out these rough seas.
Which brings me to my subject line.
For the past few weeks, it's been all I can do to keep my head above the figurative waters. Surviving has taken precedent; it's had to. But surviving is not truly living, at least not living well, and I have come to believe that all my previous thinking about how to find joy in small things and appreciate each moment mindfully has done more to help me now than I could have ever imagined.
And so, I am making a declaration to myself that I am returning to that path with meaningful intent. I can't change what's coming, but I can change myself so that I am better able to respond to it. I can't stop some very difficult things, but I can focus on not letting them leach all the color and light from the world. I can do the small things, one step at a time. I may not be ready or able yet to run that marathon I've been wanting to, but that doesn't stop me from simply hitting the roads and trails for a few minutes, and appreciating that time and the joy of movement for what it is. And so forth, and so on.
And I can share those little joys as I find them, here in this space, with all of you, as a reminder for us all that the world -- for all its difficulty -- is still a beautiful and marvelous place.
Onward and upward.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/324976.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)
Listen deeply to truly love.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
This year has been almost unimaginably rough so far. There are also some inescapable hard things ahead. I've checked with the Magic 8-Ball ("ask again later"), read the tea leaves (I don't know what each clump means, but the tea itself was good), and done some thinking.
In the end I've come to an important conclusion: I don't (and can't) know when the next hard thing is going to hit. All I can do is prepare myself as best I can to ride out these rough seas.
Which brings me to my subject line.
For the past few weeks, it's been all I can do to keep my head above the figurative waters. Surviving has taken precedent; it's had to. But surviving is not truly living, at least not living well, and I have come to believe that all my previous thinking about how to find joy in small things and appreciate each moment mindfully has done more to help me now than I could have ever imagined.
And so, I am making a declaration to myself that I am returning to that path with meaningful intent. I can't change what's coming, but I can change myself so that I am better able to respond to it. I can't stop some very difficult things, but I can focus on not letting them leach all the color and light from the world. I can do the small things, one step at a time. I may not be ready or able yet to run that marathon I've been wanting to, but that doesn't stop me from simply hitting the roads and trails for a few minutes, and appreciating that time and the joy of movement for what it is. And so forth, and so on.
And I can share those little joys as I find them, here in this space, with all of you, as a reminder for us all that the world -- for all its difficulty -- is still a beautiful and marvelous place.
Onward and upward.
This entry was originally posted at http://silveraspen.dreamwidth.org/324976.html and mirrored to LJ. Please comment where you wish! (There are
comments currently posted at Dreamwidth.)