Food for thought

You Are Me

You are me and I am you.
It is obvious that we are inter-are. You cultivate the flower in yourself
so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself
so that you do not have to suffer. I support you you support me.
I am here to bring you peace
you are here to bring me joy.


- Thich Naht Hahn

Moments of silence

Poem about Meditation
by Thich Nhat Hahn

To meditate does not mean to fight with a problem.
To meditate means to observe.Your smile proves it.
It proves that you are being gentle with yourself, that the sun of awareness is shining in you,
that you have control of your situation.You are yourself,
and you have acquired some peace.

Food for thought

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves -

slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

- Thich Nat Hahn

True love

Training is needed in order to love properly;
and to be able to give happiness and joy,
you must practice DEEP LOOKING
directed toward the other person you love.
Because if you do not understand this person,
you cannot love properly.
Understanding is the essence of love.
If you cannot understand, you cannot love.
That is the message of the Buddha.

Thich Nath Hanh

When I read this quote it brought tears to my eyes because I realized that although I claim to love there is still a deeper layer. To really being able to love someone we have to leave that safe haven of self-reflection and recognizing, and allow ourselves to really look at the one we love. I am trying to practise that now......because I know now that without truly understanding the one I love there can never be that deeper layer.

It is strange but although most people used to say that I was a warm and loving person, there have been many years in which I could not give myself the same amount of love that I would give to others. Only recently I came to that point and now I feel how my love, my true love can flow. And how much more love I have to give....

Take care my dear friends and have a lovely weekend :))

Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish.
If you are not capable of generating that
kind of energy toward yourself-
if you are not capable of taking care of yourself,
of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself-
it is very difficult to take care of another person.
In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself
is the foundation of the love of other people.
Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice.

Thich Nath Hanh

Exposed...

Exposed to violence...

Thich Nhat Hanh;

“We are often exposed, if not first hand, then through films, reading material, and conversations, to violence, fear, hatred, meaningless infatuations. Society is full of violence and hatred, which accumulates in the collective consciousness.

If in our daily lives we do not know now to abstain from damaging materials and attitudes, the seeds of violence, hatred and suffering in us will continue to be watered. We need to be aware of what we hear, see, and read every day… Do our associations and consumptions poison us?”

The last weeks I have had troubles with sleeping. I just could not fall asleep even though I was really tired. I tried a lot of different things but nothing helped. Then I remembered that very often before I went to sleep I watched a movie or spend time on the internet.

Now I don't watch TV or at images at my computer anymore at least one hour before I go to bed. Instead I listen to relaxing music and burn some incense or look at something that I find very beautiful. Like a burning candle or a beautiful flower. And it really works....my mind is more at ease and I don't have troubles falling asleep anymore. Above that I can feel how I get more inner peace..... There is still so much positive beauty in the world why focus on the negativity?
Take care and I hope you will see a lot of beauty today :)

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.
But I think the real miracle is not to walk either
on water or in thin air,
but to walk on earth.
Every day we are engaged in a miracle
which we don't even recognize;
a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves,
the black curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes.
All is a miracle.


Thich Nath Hahn

Smiling

Smiling is very important.

If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace.

It is not by going out for a demonstration against

nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace.

It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing,

and being peace that we can make peace.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Ladybugs always make me smile and it feels like a little present when I see one. Today the sun was shining while we finished my mother's cat playground. (As I write this post I still can feel my head glowing from the sunbeams). My mother was so happy today that it brought tears to my eyes to see her smile so lovely.

I am going to bed now as I am very tired but very satisfied. I just wanted to share this lovely romantic scene with you that I witnessed today in my mother's garden. I hope these little ones will bring a smile to your face too. Big hugs and take care........ :)

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Peaceful

"If in our daily life we can smile,

if we can be peaceful and happy,

not only we, but everyone will profit from it.

This is the most basic kind of peace work."

Thich Naht Hanh

I was reading the lovely blog by Peggy from Creative Influences and she mentioned Thich Nath Hahn. I realized I had a book by him and decided to spend my afternoon reading it. It is truly beautiful to feel the warm glow inside when you read these words that are written with so much love.

Peace is every step.
The shining red sun is my heart.
Each flower smiles with me.
How green, how fresh all that grows.
How cool the wind blows.
Peace is every step. It turns the endless path to joy.

Thich Nhat-Hanh

It is lovely to read again in silence. To let the words come in and warm my heart. I really notice how important it is for me not to spend too much time just watching TV or sitting behind the computer. Reading a book, doing some gardening or taking a walk are activities much more constructive for me.

Beautiful how one decision to read a book can lead to an insight like this :)
Take care my friends and I leave you with one more beautiful poem;

Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Bring the Earth your love and happiness.
The Earth will be safe when we feel safe in ourselves.

Thich Nhat Hanh