Moving Through Life

AA wrote: And I will try to do the same. Thank you, Sabina, that was once again lovely!

Moving Through Life

I have a friend who, no matter when you ask him what he is doing will say: “ I’m generally moving through life in a positive way”. 

To generally move through life in a positive way is to live in a state of grace, of love, expecting that life will bring you remarkable surprises, and knowing that your effect on life will be as gracious as its effect on you.

                                                 Daphne Rose Kingma: “A Garland of Love”

I really love that quote. Strangely enough I don’t remember ever giving this perfect answer when people ask me what I’m doing in life. Honestly, what else could the answer be...? I can’t say that I'm working as ThisOrThat, that I’m raising children, or running marathons. The question “What are you doing?” always embarrasses me, as if whatever I am doing wasn’t enough. 

Our society is so focused on doing, that being has almost gotten lost. Being positive about what’s happening in your life, isn’t that the most important way of being?

Yes, it is a state of grace to just move with the flow of life with faith and confidence, and to fully embrace whatever you’re faced with. Even if I’m not always in that state, I am generally moving through life in a positive way :-)

Selfless Giving

Selfless Giving

When you give, do not expect affection, acknowledgement or return; the reaction does not depend on you.

                                  Alain Guillo

However good our intentions are when we offer something to somebody else, we normally expect the receiver to show his or her gratefulness. Often we wait in vain, and we’re disappointed. “It’s so easy to say Thank you!”

Yes, it’s easy to say Thank you, but it’s even easier to forget it. It’s also easy to give something to somebody, who doesn’t really appreciate it…

The thing with giving is, that it needs to be selfless. You give something - be it a present or your time - because you want to give it, not because you expect something in return. You give it with all your heart, and then you forget about it. Of course you hope the receiver will be happy with the gift, that’s why you gave it to him or here in the first place, but you don’t need a proof of it to be content with your gesture. 

Let’s be honest with ourselves and look at the reasons behind our giving. Is it because we crave for recognition? Or is it just because we love to make others happy? 

Moving Through Life

Moving Through Life

I have a friend who, no matter when you ask him what he is doing will say: “ I’m generally moving through life in a positive way”. 

To generally move through life in a positive way is to live in a state of grace, of love, expecting that life will bring you remarkable surprises, and knowing that your effect on life will be as gracious as its effect on you.

                                                 Daphne Rose Kingma: “A Garland of Love”

I really love that quote. Strangely enough I don’t remember ever giving this perfect answer when people ask me what I’m doing in life. Honestly, what else could the answer be...? I can’t say that I'm working as ThisOrThat, that I’m raising children, or running marathons. The question “What are you doing?” always embarrasses me, as if whatever I am doing wasn’t enough. 

Our society is so focused on doing, that being has almost gotten lost. Being positive about what’s happening in your life, isn’t that the most important way of being?

Yes, it is a state of grace to just move with the flow of life with faith and confidence, and to fully embrace whatever you’re faced with. Even if I’m not always in that state, I am generally moving through life in a positive way :-)

Feeling is Being Alive

AA wrote: Du skriver bra, jag älskar att läsa dina ords lätthet... men ändå med en tyngd.

Feeling is Being Alive

Feeling, feeling everything: that’s the point of life. And the more you allow yourself to experience the endlessly undulating and exquisite variations of feelings, the more exquisitely alive you will find yourself to be.

                           Daphne Rose Kingma: A Garland of Love

Sometimes I consciously decide to release all inner barriers, to welcome every single feeling that emerges and to feel them all the way. It’s a way of being one hundred percent alive, of opening up for whatever life has to offer. I let myself be amazed by the infinite palette of different emotions that emerge from within and I savour everyone of them.

It might be scary to open the dams like that. You don’t really know what’s hiding behind them. Collect all your courage, show faith in yourself and in life, and give it a try: walk through your day with all latches wide open. See what that amazing center of energy that YOU are is capable of putting into the world. 

Feel your feelings fully, allow them to reach your innermost core. Feel the feeling of loss when you remember your beloved grandmother, the feeling of joy when you think of a dear friend, or the feeling of sadness when you recall something mean you said. Learn from your  feelings, learn from life and enjoy what it does to you.

Everything Becomes Sacred

Everything Becomes Sacred

Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred.

                                 Thich Nhat Hanh: The Sun My Heart

There’s almost too much talking and writing about “mindfulness” these days. When things become à la mode, they seem to become worn out and somehow impoverished. What it actually means, is living your life in awareness. You take a step back and observe yourself, watching each thought and each action with full concentration. 

Obviously this is not possible all the time, not even for long-time Buddhist monks. It demands a lot of discipline. Quite honestly, I often feel too lazy to concentrate… But when I do this effort, when I place my awareness behind myself with full concentration, it feels like another life.

Suddenly every thought and every action is fully lived, almost like a ritual. Suddenly I’m one hundred percent alive, with every fibre of my body, every neuron of my mind, and every beat of my heart. It’s like knowing that I and my life, as well as every tiny part of the Universe, is sacred. It’s like getting a glimpse of eternity.