Comparison is the thief of joy. - Theodore Roosevelt
Simplicity (Lao Tzu)
Manifest plainness
embrace simplicity
reduce selfishness
have few desires.
- Lao Tzu
A Koan: Muddy Road
Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.
Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.
“Come on, girl,” said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.
Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzan, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?”
“I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her?”
Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.
“Come on, girl,” said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.
Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzan, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?”
“I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her?”
A Koan: Thirty Years
A fellow went to a Zen master and said, “If I work very hard, how soon can I be enlightened?”
The Zen master looked him up and down and said, “Ten years.”
The fellow said, “No, listen, I mean if I really work at it, how long—”
The Zen master cut him off. “I’m sorry. I misjudged. Twenty years.”
”Wait!” Said the young man, “You don’t understand! I’m—”
“Thirty years,” said the Zen master.
Learning How to Meditate
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| Image credit fitlife.tv |
"I’d like this to be a gateway drug to a regular meditation practice, but regardless of whether it becomes that, I’ve decided that twice a day, I’m simply going to count out 50 breaths. Try it yourself: Start with ten, even. Make sure they’re good, deep breaths. Do it on the subway or in the car or bathroom, if you have to. It helps. Breathing is the cornerstone of “real” meditation, after all."
If you have tried to meditate before and didn't enjoy it, check out this article from nymag.com:
Bad at Meditation? Try Meditation-Lite
Your Happiness is Yours, Live Like It
"Your Happiness is Yours, Live Like It" - By that, I mean you have control over your happiness. Nothing in this universe has more control over your happiness than you do. It is your choice to be happy, even in difficult times.
Next time you feel upset about a situation, breathe deeply and know that you can choose to not be upset. It is your choice.
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