Cultivating Kindness, Wonder, Laughter, Meaning & Other Essentials of Life
Jen [zhuhn, ruhn]
–noun (in Chinese philosophy)
That which brings the good in others to completion; a compassionate love for humanity or for the world as a whole.
"It is hard to know whether to laugh or cry at the human predicament. Here we are with so much wisdom and tenderness, and - without even knowing it - we cover it over to protect ourselves from insecurity. Although we have the potential to experience the freedom of a butterfly, we mysteriously prefer the small and fearful cocoon of the ego."
- Pema Chodron, "The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times"
2016 was a heartbreaking year in many ways. So it's especially heartening to encounter reminders that, despite the 'gloom of the world', whose existence we can't deny, Heaven, Peace, and Joy, are still ours for the taking.
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Love's first step is attention.Read More
- Simone Weil
Photo: Richard Calmes
In the early morning hours before everyone is awake, I like to steal a few moments of quiet time for reflection with coffee and journal and sometimes a favorite book. This morning I picked up “To Bless This Space Between Us” by John O’Donohue, one of the books I turn to again and again because of his exquisite way with language, language that reveals beauty, insight. And grace.
I usually just open the book to a random page, confident that whatever I discover will be what I need at that moment, and today was no different.
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Even though I’ve lived in California for over a decade now, I continue to be amazed at the transformation even the smallest amount of rain creates. Seemingly overnight, formerly brown hills spring to lush new life, and in the morning you awake to discover them transformed.
On my drive to San Francisco this morning, the landscape is a gorgeous, luminous green. Over the last few days, we’ve had torrential downpours. And more are predicted for later today. Right now, though, the sky is crystalline blue. As I drive through the Open Space Preserve that borders I-280, the the hills are green, green, green and even the air seems to glisten, thanks to that abundant rain. So beautiful. It makes my heart sing a little in gratitude.
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"Many years ago I saw a couple in psychotherapy who had lost a child to a protracted serious illness. During one session the child's father told me a story about an old Chinese sage that had helped him enormously during his grief. He had discovered it by chance in a 1946 detective novel.
Renowned as a wise man who was filled with zest for life and for life's adventures, the sage had one odd habit that provoked curiosity among the people. He always rode his mule backwards."
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