THE ROAD

"I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

~Robert Louis Stevenson~

Challenges and difficulties in life do not stick around forever. They come and they go, as do our joys. All we have to do is step forward, and then step again, and again.
     Our view will change, and the road will straighten, and bend, and curve, and rise up, and descend. It's the changing terrain that makes for such a good adventure. Too much of the same scenery would make for a dull ride.

I enjoy the variety of my life experience. The ups and downs keep me sharp at the wheel.

EXPERIENCE AS A MIRROR

"Seek truth and you will find a path."

~Frank Slaughter~

We project ourselves onto other people. If we are angry, we see anger in those with whom we interact. If we are happy and secure, we see that. Kindness sees kindness, and hatred sees hate. So if we focus on extending compassion and generosity into the world, then that is what we will see, and that is what we will feel, and that is what we will experience as truth.

I am whatever I experience in the world. Life, in this way, is a fair exchange.

GOOD LIVING

"How many things there are which I do not want."

~Socrates~

We over-complicate our lives to the point of insanity. We need only awake and acknowledge our blessings, eat wholesome food in reasonable portions, work with integrity, get a bit of exercise, fresh air, and a good night of sleep, and be kind. Life can be this simple. It need not be melodrama, and it need not be slippery and questionable. Life well lived is a simple thing. It's straightforward, honest, and clear.

Keeping things simple and balanced makes for good living and a quiet heart.

BODY GLOVE

"I sing the body electric..."

~Walt Whitman ~

Sometimes I feel comfortable in my skin and other times, not so much. I think it's possible to be at odds with our very physicality- to be almost numb to our flesh and bones and wear our body like a shell instead of richly inhabiting it with our living energy.
     It feels so solid and secure to be viscerally aware of occupying every inch of my skin, like a perfectly fitting glove: a delight, a connectivity, a oneness, and the most comfortable home I know.

I celebrate my physical self. I am my body as much as I am my soul.

SIMPLE LIVING

"Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. when you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

~ Lao Tzu ~

Perhaps all the wisdom we need for enlightened living can be found in the simple lines of our old and cherished nursery rhyme:

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream...

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.

Seems to me, that pretty much sums things up.

I enjoy my days and accept the fact that most of my striving and grasping is nothing but chasing after the wind.

DAILY MAINTENANCE

"Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and again." ~Chinese Inscription quoted by Thoreau in Walden~

If we don't do regular maintenance on our houses, they start to show the lack of care. Paint peels, vines overtake bushes and trees, window panes crack, and all kinds of functioning gadgets cease to function.
     And our bodies and souls are no different. If we don't take care of ourselves in a consistent and compassionate manner, we will wear out and slowly fall apart.  

I take tender loving care of my body and my soul.

WHO WE ARE

"I am what I am."

~ Popeye ~

We are who we are, and the people we love are who they are as well. We have to work with what we have, and accept our assets and liabilities, and become wiling daily to explore the oceans of our own selves.

I accept myself with all of my gifts and imperfections. I stand square on the earth and feel equal to whatever I may have to face.