Sublime

We must be willing to suspend the compulsive drive of the ego for quick and convenient answers to our deepest questions and be willing to live in the creative tension between the known and the unknown.

The principle is to be ordinary, not to be too busy. We just live in a normal way. When we eat, we just eat; we don’t speak. If we need to urinate, we urinate. If we’re tired, then we can rest.

The Dalai Lama’s bodhisattva vow is “Every day, think as you wake up: ‘Today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I’m going to use my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts

What was it that Nisargadatta, the Vedanta sage, said? “Wisdom tells me I’m nothing. Love tells me I’m everything. In between, my life flows.”

When I was visiting family last year, they asked me how I can stand to do the same thing day in and day out, week after week, year after year. I thought for a moment and responded that if I allow myself to be fully present, then each day, each moment is never the same. The sameness of our everyday routine actually frees us up to transform ourselves

Say with perfect courtesy, “This is a poor time to go browsing for a best-seller. Won’t you kindly rejoin me in the room where we’re meditating on the Prayer of Saint Francis?”

Modah ani—I am grateful. Throughout the day, pause ten times and offer gratitude. Give thanks for the food you eat, for a beautiful sight or sound. Offer praise for an insight, a moment of connection, a moment of love.

We ask ourselves, What do I have to let go of to move forward? I will act compassionately toward all. I will remember that my strength comes from the Eternal.