#446 Gratitude, Service & Responsibility

     The great philosopher Huston Smith summarized a profound approach to life:

"Infinite gratitude towards all things past;
infinite service to all things present; 
infinite responsibility to all things future."

http://billmoyers.com/content/a-personal-philosophy-the-wisdom-of-faith-with-huston-smith/

     Can we acknowledge how this, and only this, total timeless engagement with life is right, natural, our only home?
     Can we recognize that anything less than such an openhearted mindful embrace of the whole is partial, incomplete, inadequate, and therefore - painfully unsatisfying?
     Can we then reduce suffering by settling for nothing less?
     Can we recognize how this is as plainly reasonable & practical as pulling a splinter out of our thumb?

     See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/11/personal-deepening-universal-meaning.html

Kristiina Lehtonen - "A Message to Eternity"   http://www.kristiinalehtonen.fi

#410 Direct Engagement with Life

     Whenever our immediate perception of what's in front of us, or within us, is less than 100% accurate, then our response - our behavior - has to be proportionately inappropriate. Most of the time, our perception is distorted by our emotional attachment to memories of past ups or downs, which in turn project cravings or fears into our future. In this manner, our perception of reality ie what's actually happening right now, right here, is distorted - partially or completely hidden from us. We're continuously reliving past fantasies or nightmares (even though our memory of events is continuously revised ie is inaccurate). So quite literally, most of us live in a trance most of the time.
     The sooner we become aware of this terrible waste of our "one brief & precious life", the more seriously we practice to become mindful - to wake up to seeing things as they are, and behaving appropriately, kindly.

     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/06/141-reminders-to-prioritize.html

Dale Chihuly   http://www.chihulygardenandglass.com/