Everything We Need to Know

The wonderful Hokusai Says which perhaps encapsulates everything we need to know about living.

Learning from the Imperfect

"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dalí











Remember that whole month when you were just perfect? 

Those thirty long days when you made all the right decisions, achieved everything you planned, and were compassionate to everyone and stood up for all the things you value. 

That month when you looked amazing every day, ate the perfect food and trained like an athlete.

Perfection is pretty hard to come by, even for thirty days. Still, like many people, I've found myself unwittingly looking for perfection in others. 

Not from those I interact with on a day-to-day basis, we all know everyone makes mistakes and we're used to dealing with the little (or sometimes big) inconveniences that can cause.

But when I was looking for inspiration, or for people to learn big life lessons from, I realised that I expected those people to be perfect. I reasoned that I wanted to learn from people who had fully mastered every aspect of life, so that I could learn how to master every aspect of life.

What if trees thought like humans?

"There is nothing permanent except change" - Heraclitus


















It is early springtime and already the days have started to get noticeable longer. Nature is waking up, not least the trees. Tiny buds on their barren boughs are starting to swell. Before long they will burst open revealing fresh, bright green leaves and the first blossom of the year. 

But it wasn't always like this. A few months ago, disaster struck. Foliage started to wither, die and fall to the ground as temperatures plummeted and the days became dark. The trees were stripped of all life, leaving behind what appeared to be an empty, lifeless shell.

Wouldn't it be interesting if during this seasonal cycle trees were able to think like humans? I imagine the thought process going something like this:

Where people sit like mountains, smiling with indescribable smiles

"Sometimes, we lose our concept of freedom so completely that even though the door to our prison is wide open, we don't go outside." - Unknown





There’s an old story of a young man, who, as he grew, started to cause a great deal of disquiet in his village. He spoke of strange, far off worlds, worlds very different to anything anyone had ever heard of. 

He spoke of worlds where the sun, trying to savour every moment, grazed the horizon all night long, casting shadows over people that never slept. He spoke of great oceans surrounded by hills of sand, of salty spray carried on the wind beneath skies of sparkling jewels. He spoke of ancient people of orange and red who sat like mountains and smiled with indescribable smiles.

All this talk started to cause a lot of disruption. Some thought he just had an over-active imagination, some thought he was trying to trick them, and for a few, his words seemed to awaken something within them, although they weren't sure what it was, and so they became afraid.

Open the Door - the meditation advent calendar

"Time passes. Listen! Time passes." - Dylan Thomas

















Meditation practice (sitting quietly and observing the breath) is becoming more and more mainstream as study after study reveals the enormous benefits to the meditator and the communities they live in.

Beginning a practice, and perhaps more importantly, continuing it regularly, can be tricky to achieve. I've heard it said that seeking happiness through quietening the mind is almost the opposite of seeking pleasure. 

With pleasure seeking, the reward is instant, and often the price comes later in the form of a hangover, credit card bill etc. In the case of meditation, we really only start to experience the benefits after we've engaged in some regular practice. 

Until we've established a regular routine it's often tempting to put off meditating and to go and do something with an instant reward. The sense of peace and happiness which arises through regular meditation however, cannot begin to compare with the fleeting pleasures we may experience in other activities. Even 10 or 20 minutes a day can make a large difference to the quality of our lives.

The meditation advent calendar
Here's an idea, as it's the beginning of December why not go out and buy an advent calendar. Then make a commitment to spend 10 minutes practicing meditation before opening the advent calendar door each day. 

Opening the advent calendar can act as a metaphor for opening the door to our mind, and of course, chocolate tastes so much better when we eat it with full awareness. Looking back at all those open doors as the days pass we can be reminded of how many doors to the mind we've opened and be encouraged to continue.

By the time Christmas comes we'll have already established our meditation practice and be ready to start the new year in a more peaceful, open and happy state. 

Once awareness has been tasted it's something very difficult to forget! 




Image courtesy of Aesop

The Wise Old Tree

"When autumn arrives, the trees do not cling to their leaves."

Nature has a great way of recognizing the right thing at the right time and with no sense of attachment, letting go when that time comes to an end. It's November and all around me I can see a carpet of leaves, lying deep red and shimmering gold on the ground. 

For months they have been the trees' faithful servants, collecting sunlight and turning it into energy for growth. The trees remained deeply connected to their tiny factories, exchanging nutrients and providing everything they needed to flourish. In return the leaves have provided the tree with vital stores of energy.

The Biggest Lottery

“We’ve come a long way to belong here” - Jason Mraz 

Looking around the world there is so much to be concerned about. The economy is in tatters, there’s a crisis in the Euro, civil wars are brewing, the terrorists could be anywhere and everywhere and even if we make it to old age, there may be no pension funds left. 

Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to worry about all the things we need to worry about. Actually though, all those are nothing compared to the real big worry, something so big it could mean the end of the world for all of us! 

What if I never get born?