To Death Slowly
He who becomes the slave of habit,
who follows the same routines every day,
who never changes brand,
who does not risk and change the colour of his clothes,
who does not talk to people he doesn’t know
dies slowly.
He who makes television his guru
dies slowly.
He or she who shuns passion,
who prefers black on white,
and the dots on the "i" to a whirlpool of emotions,
precisely those that recover the gleam of the eyes,
smiles from the yawns,
hearts from the stumbling and feelings
dies slowly.
He who does not turn things topsy-turvy,
who is unhappy at work,
who
does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
dies slowly.
He who does not travel,
who does not read,
who cannot hear music,
who does not find grace in himself,
dies slowly.
He who slowly destroys his self love,
who does not allow himself to be helped,
who spends days on end complaining about his own bad luck,
about the rain that never stops,
dies slowly.
He or she who abandons a project before starting it,
who fail to ask questions on subjects he doesn't know,
he or she who doesn't reply when they are asked something they do know,
die slowly.
Let's avoid death in small doses,
reminding oneself that being alive requires an effort far greater than the
simple fact of breathing.
Only a burning patience will lead to the attainment of a splendid happiness.
― Martha Medeiros
Your feet
When I cannot look at your face
I look at your feet.
Your feet of arched bone,
your hard little feet.
I know that they support you,
rises upon them.
Your waist and your breasts,
the doubled purple
of your nipples,
the sockets of your eyes
that have just flown away,
your wide fruit mouth,
your red tresses,
my little tower.
But I love your feet
only because they walked
upon the earth and upon
the wind and upon the waters,
until they found me.
― Pablo Neruda
"Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet."
“When
we walk like (we are rushing), we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth.
We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth...
Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth.
Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
10 Golden Rules for me.
I must give myself the same care and attention that I give to others.
I am not an endless source for others. I must store my energy reserves and avoid exhaustion.
I have needs that may be different from the needs of my friends, family, and colleagues.
I must not say 'YES' to all requests and I must not feel guilty if I say 'NO'.
Perfect couples, parents, children or professionals do not exist. Good enough, it exists.
I have the right to be treated with respect as a person of merit, intelligent and competent.
I don't need the approval of others to know that I am doing the best I can
Time to relax is time well spent.
Making mistakes is not a disaster. I can learn from them and also allow others to learn as well.
I must be fair to myself, especially in the face of criticism, anxiety and difficulties. I must always remember that I am doing the best I can.
A return to Love
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-- Marianne Williamson
Rules for being Human
You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep for the entire period.
You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called “life.”
There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”
Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become a “here,” you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
You will forget all this.
You can remember it if you want by unraveling the double helix of inner-knowing.
-- Cherie Carter Scott
