Do What You Love & Love What You Do

AA said: Så sant, så sant.

Do What You Love & Love What You Do

Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it. 
                                                
                                         Maya Angelou

For too many years I worked with what “was reasonable” from a social and economic point of view, not with what I really loved. I was rather good at it, but – of course – never really great. How can you be great at something when your heart and soul are not fully involved?

I’m not saying that I’m great at what I’m doing now – hiking and guiding in the mountain, photographing, writing, exploring the alpine flora - but these activities do bring me a lot of satisfaction, and my knowledge and skills grow without any stressful effort. The sacrifices I make for doing what I love are definitely worthwhile, and the best thing is that other people benefit from it, too.

There is, of course, also the other side of the coin: sometimes you have to do what you don’t love, and that easily leads to tensing up, bad mood, and stress. The thing is not to put those tasks aside, but to tackle them immediately, and to keep in mind that they’re also an important part of life – be it ironing your shirts, visiting a sick friend in the hospital, or making your income declaration. Remember how lucky you are to be able to do these things: your body and mind are still allowing you to take part of all the facets of life, and try to do them with a smile. Already it will feel a lot better. Afterwards, you can reward yourself with an activity that you really love – or even better: il dolce farniente ;-) 

This Moment is Your Life

This Moment is Your Life

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.

Omar Khayyam

Another quote that just says it all: This moment actually is your life. 

Remember to stop with whatever you are doing every now and then to really live this moment. Know exactly where you are, what you do, and how you feel. Enjoy this moment to the fullest. Who knows how many moments you have left?

At the end you will want to have lived your life fully, moment by moment, and not just "been lived" by it.

Open, Flexible, and Kind

Open, Flexible, and Kind

 We can begin anything we do – start our day, eat a meal, or walk into a meeting – with the intention to be open, flexible, and kind.

                                    Pema Chödrön: The Places That Scare You

It’s all about attitude, isn’t it? We can meet people and situations with a closed mind, stuck in a rigid system of beliefs and ideas, without really caring about them or their needs. Then we act like concrete walls - we're hard and cold, and we don’t really let anybody or anything enter. The problem is, thereby we also shut ourselves out from our own hearts.

Instead, we can be open to others - and to ourselves. Open to what life brings, welcoming whatever comes our way. Being open goes hand in hand with being flexible, because we do our best to be open for anything, anytime. What if my friend cancels our dinner tomorrow? We’ll enjoy it even more in a week!

However, these nice qualities don’t go a long way without the warmth of kindness. Kindness is that tender touch of the heart that shows that we really care, from deep within. Our openness and flexibility are not just a way to please others, but they come from the heart. 

Try to begin whatever is next on your list, or meet whoever stands in line with the intention to be open, flexible, and kind.

Miracle Thinking

AA wrote: You are so correct, dear friend! It was the very thing that saved me back during the dark days of adjusting to my mother's dementia. I'm finding myself really struggling again as I witness my daughter's pain and suffering, and still no diagnosis to be able and help her. I must work harder on seeing miracles again. Thank you for reminding me! 

Miracle Thinking

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

                                                Albert Einstein

Sometimes, we become overpowered by life. There is too much going on within and around us, and the only thing we seem to be busy with is keeping our noses above the surface. During such periods we just struggle with life, or rush past next to it. We don’t really see anything, and we try not to feel anything either. Nothing is a miracle.

Then, suddenly, something makes us slow down. Perhaps we recover from the illness we had, perhaps a difficult situation is solved… We open our eyes and our minds, and see the world around us again. We might even wonder how we could miss all its beauty before? Suddenly everything is a miracle!

It is a gift to walk through life like a child, with a sense of wonder and awe. If we don’t have that gift, we can actually cultivate it. We can learn to stop along your way to take in all different facets of life: seeing the stunning patterns of a stone, hearing the happy pitch in somebody’s voice, smelling the faint scent of a wild flower. Everything IS a miracle, we just have to realise it.

Waking Up

AA wrote: A beautiful reminder !
BB wrote: Dear Sabina, this too, is a wonderful gift to start the day. 

Waking Up

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

                  Thich Nhat Hanh: Present Moment, Wonderful Moment

Since many years, I’ve used this quote as my wake-up mantra in the morning. Already before I open up my eyes I smile, and I decide to try my best to stay present to my feelings, to all that happens throughout the day, and to acknowledge the people that cross my path with kindness and love. 

I know my attention will slip, and I know there will sometimes be irritation against others. After all I’m just a normal human being, with a head full of racing thoughts and all kind of not-always-so-nice feelings. Still, reminding me again and again does have an effect. That way, I have bigger chances to stay true to myself, to Life and to Love.

PS I have quoted Thich Nhat Hanh on this kind of practice before (December ’15), but I think it deserves a revivification ;-)