Category Archives: meditation

May 22 2012
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inspiration, inspirational, meditation, motivational, self improvement

Peace of Mind

Peace of mind

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town
with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days.
While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake.
They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples,

“I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.

The disciple walked up to the lake.
When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment,
a bullock cart started crossing through the lake.
As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid.
The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!”

So he came back and told Buddha,
“The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”
After about half an hour, again  Buddha asked the same disciple
to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink.
The disciple obediently went back to the lake.
This time too he found that the lake was muddy.
He returned and informed Buddha about the same.

After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back.

The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean
and clear with pure water in it.
The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had.
So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,”
See what you did to make the water clean.
You let it be…. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear
water.

Your mind is also like that!
When it is disturbed, just let it be.
Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own.
You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down.

It will happen. It is effortless.

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May 02 2012
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inspiration, inspirational, meditation, motivational, self improvement

Regrets of The Dying by Bonnie Ware

The other day my boyfriend sent this to me, I think with The Lucky Penny in mind, and after reading it I knew I had to share with all of you.  Although death is never an easy subject to talk about, the authors experiences with her patients as she cared for them in their last days, really illustrate how common it can be to lose perspective of the most important things in life.  By sharing her patients revelations and regrets in their final days, Bonnie Ware gives us another opportunity to really examine ourselves and our lives.  It shows us just how important it is to remember to value ourselves,  our family, our friends, and our time.  The article stresses how important it is to remember to be happy and how imperative it is we live the lives we want rather then the lives we think others expect us to live.  Our time in this world is so precious, and hopefully this article helps us to remember to cherish each and every day so that when faced with our own mortality, we don’t have to look back with the same regrets.
In other news I am off to San Francisco for a few days, will be posting from the road if possible and I can’t wait to share all my experiences and adventures with you when I return to NYC next week!

REGRETS OF THE DYING

by Bonnie Ware

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For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

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Apr 02 2012
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inspiration, inspirational, meditation, motivational, self improvement, spring

The Story of The Butterfly

The BUTTERFLY

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

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Sometimes it’s easy to forget the importance of “the struggle”  when we are striving towards a new goal or dream that we want to accomplish.  It’s natural to want to just skip over the tough stuff, the small steps, the hard work,  and just get to the final desired result.  However, we must remember that it’s the struggle that helps build our character, it’s the hard times that teach us the life lessons we need to learn along the way as we move towards achieving our aspirations.  Without these lessons and learned strengths we may still be able to reach that level of success we strive for but that success would be fleeting and hard to maintain and ultimately not as fulfilling.  Like the butterfly, we too must emerge from our cocoons, without help, struggling to break free, all the while learning and growing with each twist and turn. Yet, if we try to skip these character building steps, like the poor butterfly in the story, we may find ourselves free of our struggle, “our cocoons”  but unprepared for what will come next and without the ability to fly.

Photos courtesy of:

http://www.lucasbrouwers.nl

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