In one of the practices of mindfulness, as I understand it, one strives to be aware of and experience everything, from the fragrance of one's breakfast cereal to the sound of the locking the car door. It sounds kind of funny, but I actually enjoy noticing these things.
On a bigger scale, a professor of mine, when asked how he is doing often replies, "Just grateful to be alive." He does it in such an amiable and genuine way that it often causes me to ponder about my own life. Almost every day for the past week, I have thought that mantra to myself, sometimes even spoken aloud to someone else. I'm just grateful to be alive today. Every day is another day we get to learn and grow and share with others. May we all find happiness and be free from suffering.
Ukraine's War Losses Weigh on Cultural Heart of Lviv
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Amen to that. It is interesting that we can control our very disposition often by simply choosing to be happy. We can focus on the glass half full or the glass half empty.
ReplyDeleteAfter my long stint out of work when I had finally gone back to work I car-pooled with a fellow and his wife and every morning he ranted about all the negative things that were happening in his life (mostly at work). I tried to convince him that having a paycheck was a very good thing but he just couldn't see it (that thought alone can bring a great deal of happiness to any job).
A famous motivational speaker Zig Ziggler used to reply to that question this way, "If I was any better I'd think the deck was stacked in my favor".
Life is good!
wow, how insightful was that little piece of banter. i am grateful to be alive as well. there has actually been quite a bit of stuff going on in the lives of the thomas (my side of the family) fam this past month or so, but its not hard to remember how great things are at the same time. ps what is that picture you have at the top? i'm confused :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm confused by the relevance of the picture. It's one of those fire hose attachments on the side of a rock wall next to a hotel in Honolulu. No particular meaning really, I just liked the picture. Hopefully someone will come up with some inspiring symbolic interpretation of it.
ReplyDeleteHope your family gets through the stuff okay.