Thanks for reading, Jeff, I appreciate it. I'm a work in progress, of course, but the more I read/study/think about our consciousness the more sense it makes that we're not our thoughts & emotions. Those things change with the breeze. Thanks again.
What a thoughtful exploration of Buddha's teachings on desire and suffering translated for our modern context, Byron. Your essay beautifully captures how our endless pursuit of external validation and material possessions keeps us trapped in a cycle of "not-okayness," and I found your metaphor of life as a movie we're watching particularly illuminating. The reminder that our true self is the witness to life's events rather than the events themselves is both profound and practical—a perspective that can help us break free from the hamster wheel of desire that keeps us from experiencing genuine contentment. Thank you for sharing this wisdom, my friend!
Byron, well, I'm certainly glad that none of this applies to me.
Seriously, I love the idea of the conditional life and the analogy of the movie. We always look to the movie for the happy ending—if only I have "this," whatever "this" is—forgetting that we get to write the script.
A great message for a first read of the day, thank you!
Thanks for reading, Jeff, I appreciate it. I'm a work in progress, of course, but the more I read/study/think about our consciousness the more sense it makes that we're not our thoughts & emotions. Those things change with the breeze. Thanks again.
What a thoughtful exploration of Buddha's teachings on desire and suffering translated for our modern context, Byron. Your essay beautifully captures how our endless pursuit of external validation and material possessions keeps us trapped in a cycle of "not-okayness," and I found your metaphor of life as a movie we're watching particularly illuminating. The reminder that our true self is the witness to life's events rather than the events themselves is both profound and practical—a perspective that can help us break free from the hamster wheel of desire that keeps us from experiencing genuine contentment. Thank you for sharing this wisdom, my friend!
Present moment
Wonderful moment
Think the good thoughts
Act on them
Hope is powered by gratitude - even for the littlest things, like a cup of hot coffee you can make and savor
On the console of my car rests a large postcard I've had for years. A copy of a calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh: "Breathe. It will be okay."
[https://plumvillage.shop/products/calligraphies-by-thich-nhat-hanh/english-calligraphies/beathe-it-ll-be-okay-thich-nhat-hanhs-calligraphy/]
If anyone knows - by lived experience - that it will okay it's Thay.
And that's enough for me.
For me, too! Thanks for reading I appreciate it.
Byron, well, I'm certainly glad that none of this applies to me.
Seriously, I love the idea of the conditional life and the analogy of the movie. We always look to the movie for the happy ending—if only I have "this," whatever "this" is—forgetting that we get to write the script.
A great message for a first read of the day, thank you!