I love this so much. It's the perfect message.

Truer words were never spoken. A wonderful reminder.

Our loyalties must include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth

Parabola Magazines Facebook status update today:
Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group. Initially our loyalties were to ourselves and our immediate family, next, to bands of wandering hunter-gatherers, then to tribes, small settlements, city-states, nations.

We have broadened the circle of those we love. We have now organized what are modestly described as super-powers, which include groups of people from divergent ethnic and cultural backgrounds working in some sense together — surely a humanizing and character building experience. If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further, to include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth. 

Many of those who run the nations will find this idea unpleasant. They will fear the loss of power. We will hear much about treason and disloyalty. Rich nation-states will have to share their wealth with poor ones. But the choice, as H. G. Wells once said in a different context, is clearly the universe or nothing.

–Carl Sagan, "Cosmos," Random House, 1980, p. 339

I ♥ Thich Nhat Hanh. We don't want to miss our life.

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

Read this quote a week ago and haven't been able to get it out of my mind.

"If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem wonderful at all." MICHELANGELO-Renaissance sculptor and painter who spent 4 years lying on his back painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

We are shaped by our thoughts

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

~ Buddha Quote ~

its almost 2012!

If you're looking for a 2012 calendar for that special someone I recommend Thich Nhat Hanh's. It's really beautiful and full of lovely quotes from him and artwork by Adam Guan (you can click my pic to enlarge).

Below is a beautiful video of Thay and his calligraphy. I really hope to purchase a piece on his next tour. I didn't have the cash this time around but felt so lucky to hear him speak just the same. Namaste.

Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing who that is.

“It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely the path that is your life.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Love this.

“Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.” ~Buddha

The Arts.

No idea who wrote this but I think we'd all agree.Where would we be without art? ♥

Be sure and watch...

Watch your habits, for they become your posture.
Watch your posture, for it creates your boundaries.
Watch your boundaries, for they restrict your growth.

Watch your restrictions, for they create immobility.
Watch your immobility, for it becomes your illness.

-Katy Bowman

Day after day...

Let the yogi practice harmony of soul: in a secret place, in deep solitude, master of his mind, hoping for nothing, desiring nothing. Bhagavad Gita

Is this not the most idyllic scene? I hope to dream about this very place tonight :)

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth
seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot

Be honest and sincere anyway

The verses below were written on the wall of Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta, India and are attributed to her:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and the Divine. It was never between you and them anyway.

I am so grateful for all of you.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

~Melodie Beattie

Great advice

Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet, cherish them. - Unknown

Looks like I've got a favourite playwright

And his name is John P Shanley...

Choose Life over the other stuff. Get out of your head. Live. Dress up. Eat. Touch people. Help out. Give up. Love people. Give your best away. There's more. What's the problem? Relax. You're going to die. Throw a party. Eat off my plate. Sing to me. Meet me in the bedroom. Get a massage. Give one. Let your amazement out into the room. Pry open the box you hide your joy in. Be a poem. - John P. Shanley. Via Ntara.

I love my community.

Today I am off to a garden party/potluck at my community garden. Its where my fellow gardeners (neighbors/people from the community/folks from all walks of life) get caught up, clean up, work together planting, pulling weeds, etc... We just basically work together doing whatever projects that need to be done. And we visit, get caught up with each other, and make new connections. Its really nice. Even in the pouring rain its nice.

It just just got me thinking about community this morning and the sheer importance of it, especially in this day and age. Whatever you choose to get involved in not only benefits you but it benefits the whole community. Children of all ages can get involved in community/volunteer projects as well, and they can learn a lot of great skills while they're at it. And its so fun and rewarding.

Heres a great quote by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on community;

"What should young people do with their lives today? many things obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured."

It sure is a beautiful world we live in. Its important to make connections and be there for each other. Namaste.

I love this and its so true..