Found this in a secondhand shop today…think it might be a gem!? Anyone read it?
The selfishly weak will always rule the strong. For they cling and they hold on long after they have any right to. This is the selfishness of the weak. They hold on to things long after they have any right to, just so nobody else can have them.
— from The Lost Life by Steven Carroll
This is a really lovely story. Please take a minute or two to read it. I am sure it will make you smile and feel inspired.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
A beautiful song…
‘All The Little Lights’ (Acoustic) by Passenger (featuring Stu Larsen, Natsuki Kurai & Bree Bullock)
Source: a-naoi
Joining the spiritual path
by PAULO COELHO on JANUARY 27, 2012
Many emotions move the human heart when it decides to dedicate itself to the spiritual path.
This may be a “noble” reason – like faith, love of our neighbour, or charity. Or it may be just a whim, the fear of loneliness, curiosity, or the fear of death.
None of that matters. The true spiritual path is stronger than the reasons that led us to it and little by little it imposes itself with love, discipline and dignity.
A moment arrives when we look backwards, remember the beginning of our journey, and laugh at ourselves. We have managed to grow, although we traveled the path for reasons that were very futile.
God uses loneliness to teach us about living together.
Sometimes he uses anger so that we can understand the infinite value of peace.
At other times he uses tedium, when he wants to show us the importance of adventure and leaving things behind.
God uses silence to teach us about the responsibility of what we say.
At times he uses fatigue so that we can understand the value of waking up.
At other times he uses sickness to show us the importance of health.
God uses fire to teach us about water.
Sometimes he uses earth so that we can understand the value of air. And at times he uses death when he wants to show us the importance of life.
tumblrbot asked: WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?
It’s really hard to say…some things I remember because my parents have told me stories, but are they my actual memories otherwise? I don’t think so…I’d have to think on that some more.
Individuation is the process of growing up and separating from your family of origin. It’s learning to say no in a caring way such that you become independent but not disconnected.
An individuated person is emotionally free. That means they can choose to resist someone’s demands and at the same time be loving toward them. They are separate but still connected. In effect they’re giving out two different energies at once. These are the two basic energies in the universe: the one that separates us out as individuals and the one that connects us into a whole. This emotional ability to do two things at once is really the definition of individuation. Without it every interaction becomes black or white - you either passively submit or you battle to the death.
The secret of using both energies at once is to be emotionally proactive. Every time you have to say no, especially to someone close to you, balance it by taking the initiative to reach out to the other person. You can do this with your tone of voice, by touching them or by taking a moment to explain your position (but not in a way that asks their permission). The love you express to them doesn’t make you seem weak, rather when they feel your will to stay connected to them you’ll actually seem stronger, even if they don’t like the position you take.
Becoming more of an individual can actually help your family. When you’re being yourself, your connection to the family is more real. Only what you give to others in free will has lasting value. The modern family has to evolve into a structure where everyone is free to be an individual and yet stays connected.
—- This comes from an article in a New York publication called “A Real Life” that I used to subscribe to many years ago. The article was written by Phil Stutz, a practicing psychiatrist in Los Angeles who takes a spiritual approach to psychotherapy.
Something really cleansing about rain. Washes away all the dust and dirt; nourishes the earth; makes everything clean and fresh and green… And this is how the new year has begun: with torrential, relentless rain. Sometimes heavy, sometimes light, but always there. I wonder if there are as many different words for the different types of rain as there are for different kinds of snow? I remember that from reading Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow all those years ago.
Maybe all this rain cleanses us too. Our thoughts, our passions, our plans, our goals. Causes us to reevaluate, to think again; to pause and take a deep breath. Nourishes our soul. Helps us with our inner growth.
