Mindfulness
Clarity, Faith, Goodness, Guides, Mindfulness
GETTING HIGH ON COFFEE
Life lessons come in as many shapes and sizes as there are people. The opportunity to learn can be in church or at the park watching a young father with his children. Daddy referees are especially inventive. An argument over a toy settled quickly by a clever comment. “I don’t want you fighting over the ball and I really don’t want you getting on those swings”. Classic reverse psychology, which leads, of course, to both toddlers heading for the… Read More
Emotions, Mindfulness, Truth, Understanding
IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER?
It’s an expression we hear all the time. It usually has a “Don’t let it bother you” tacked on at the beginning or the end. You know, “Don’t let it bother you. In one ear and out the other.” The problem I have with this philosophy is not the letting go part. It’s not the not holding on to grudges, making more of what people say than perhaps they mean, attaching an importance to silly, hurtful or just lame… Read More
Ego, Gratitude, Living Fully, Mindfulness
THE ILLUSION OF TOP BANANA
I’m making up a new word. Dis-attractive. It’s to describe the highly addictive cyber candy right there at our fingertips every day. You can open up your browser and lose yourself in the maze of information, gossip, shocking celebrity behavior, fashion disasters or conspiracy theories. It’s Alice down the rabbit hole of “Search”. It’s an easy place to miss-place huge hunks of our lives. And there is little on line more compelling than the sight of our own name in… Read More
Bravery, Freedom, Guides, Hanging In There, Happiness, Living Fully, Mindfulness, Patience
LET IT BE or SOMETIMES DOWN DOG IS ENOUGH
Sometimes in life you just have to let things be. Now, this is not always easy for me and for many it’s often easier said than done. It’s a topic we address here are at Gratitude and Trust from time to time. But last week I was blown away by an example that I just had to share. I tend to be a serious type A. I worry when I’m not accomplishing and doing, and I have the not so… Read More
Ego, Gratitude, Living Fully, Mindfulness
STINKING THINKING
There’s an old joke about a fellow going to borrow a shovel from his neighbor. Walking over he remembers that during the summer he borrowed a screwdriver that he never returned. He begins imagining the conversation with his generous friend who he begins to see as a self-righteous ass. By the time his friend answers the door he’s fuming and screams, “Keep your fucking shovel.” I think we’re all guilty of that little role-playing exercise. We become the designated hero… Read More
“SLOW DOWN”
My grandmother has been dead for close to fourteen years, but I can still hear her demanding, reminding, pleading with me to slow down. I do everything at a break net speed. Ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you I motor through life. I write fast, so fast Paul says smoke comes out of the keyboard. I eat so fast I tend to choke on my food. I can get through a store as if I was… Read More
ADDICTION AS ATTACHMENT
Addiction can be seen as an extreme case of what the Eastern spiritual traditions call attachment. The wise ones advised us not to be attached to the attractions and aversions of worldly life. Because all sensory pleasures, all relationships, and all material possessions are transient, their satisfaction will invariably fade, giving rise to discontent, followed by brand new cravings, and when those are satisfied … well, you know the story: the cycle continues. And continues. The only lasting happiness… Read More