8.12.2007

hello, brand new week

:Emilija Pasagic, shawgalleries.co.uk

This painting is so sweet, mysterious and welcoming. I see a new week greeting and bringing each of us along--one by one--into fresh, unknown experience.



And for all of us who could benefit from some Pema* guidance today, here we go...

Trying to fix ourselves is not helpful. It implies struggle and self-denigration. Self-improvement can have temporary results, but lasting transformation occurs only when we honor ourselves as the source of wisdom and compassion. We are...very much like a blind person who finds a jewel buried in a heap of garbage. Right here in what we'd like to throw away, in what we find repulsive and frightening, we discover the warmth and clarity of [our awakened/enlightened mind].

It is only when we begin to relax with ourselves that meditation becomes a transformative process. Only when we relate with ourselves without moralizing, without harshness, without deception, can we let go of harmful patterns. (I'll be back in just a bit...)


* from Pema Chodron's The Places That Scare You
[I still don't know how to underline or italicize on my blog. Heaven, or someone reading this, help me.]

1 comment:

Luisa Perkins said...

I had a dream like that once....