A little pause in the shopping and holiday frenzy. . .
You know those days when you don’t think you or what you do in your life matters very much? Maybe you might wish to re-think that.
Here’s some help from Osho Zen:
You are not accidental. Existence needs you. Without you something will be missing in existence and nobody can replace it. That’s what gives you dignity, that the whole existence will miss you. The stars and sun and moon, the trees and birds and earth – everything in the universe will feel a small place is vacant which cannot be filled by anybody except you.
This gives you a tremendous joy, a fulfillment that you are related to existence, and existence cares for you. Once you are clean and clear, you can see tremendous love falling on you from all dimensions.
Commentary:
A naked figure sits on the lotus leaf of perfection, gazing at the beauty of the night sky. She knows that “home” is not a physical place in the outside world, but an inner quality of relaxation and acceptance. The stars, the rocks, the trees, the flowers, fish and birds – all are our brothers and sisters in this dance of life. We human beings tend to forget this, as we pursue our own private agendas and believe we must fight to get what we need. But ultimately, our sense of separateness is just an illusion, manufactured by the narrow preoccupations of the mind.
Now is the time to look at whether you are allowing yourself to receive the extraordinary gift of feeling “at “home” wherever you are. If you are, be sure to take time to savor it so it can deepen and remain with you. If on the other hand you’ve been feeling like the world is out to get you, it’s time to take a break. Go outside tonight and look at the stars.
Copyright © 2006 Osho International Foundation
It is easy to see why it is I see you as so special!
Blessings and hugs
Shirl
Hugs to you, Shirl!
Mmmmmmm, what a nice way to start my day. Let’s keep it going boran2. . .you start where you are and I will work from here, we’ll meet somewhere in the middle.
Love ya,
Shirl
Sounds good to me!
Thanks for this, Shirl. And for all the peace and hope you sprinkle around wherever you travel, like some sort of “Oasis Angel” (the non religious type, of course…:)
Now, I like that! Oasis Angel. . .reminds me of that old song, “Midnight at the Oasis” and now I can’t get it out of my head either. . .LOL
Love ya
Shirl
Thank you Shirl…just when this ol gal really needed to take a step back, a deep breath and go inward. Peace my angel friend.
Ahh, you always do it just right my “leezy” girl. Looking forward to meeting up with you and the others sometime in the next months. Miss your great smile and laugh, not to mention the DANCING!!!
Loves
Shirl
Thanks Shirl. This reminds me of a poem:
Everything Is Waiting For You
by David Whyte
Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.
NL, a lovely poem and truth upon truth. . .
“Everything is waiting for you.” Could there be a better mantra through life?
Very special, just as you are. Thank you for your beautiful heart.
Loves
Shirl
And I don’t give gifts hoping to find approval. It’s something far more selfish than that. It’s a confession of how full my cup is and now I can also soak in the enjoyment of giving to others. I was very impressed with my son’s Christmas list that his father asked him to write. Sometimes I worry about our son because he has received so many gifts from us and many other people too who seek to make a light in his life. It was beautiful though and didn’t display the materialism that I sometimes fear he could fall prey to. It was very misspelled as I hoped that it would be too. He asked for new army men, some new yugioh cards, a new toy sword. Other than the yugioh cards I have in the past picked the other things up at the dollar store. He loves sword fighting. So many physical activities have to be denied him but he seems to be a very capable and active sword fighter and we have lots of broken plastic swords. He loves Pirates of the Carribean so Daddy, Santa and I will be throwing some of that stuff in there too.
I was always fond of sword fighting myself, although back in the waaaaaaaaaaaay back days we made then out of sticks. Must have been my Zena gene.
Sounds as if you have the season well within your grasp and that your family will share in the specialness of it all. You have modeled well for your son, you are all very blessed to have each other and to share the often difficult times with love and courage.
Blessings and loves
Shirl
Sorry to fart loudly in a lovefest but Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers caused a LOT of trouble in my corner of the world including poisoning 400-some people in a salad bar to try to sway an election. He had some good ideas but please remember the whole story. I wonder what’s up with the rehabilitation of his name (reappearing as Osho). As a former Zen student I’m offended by his followers’ use of terms that rightly belong to another tradition. Are good words from bad teachers OK or not? I ask that sincerely knowing that folks with good hearts and intentions are reading and writing here.
total respect to the good wishes.
Hey there ‘soup! Thanks for adding your perspective here.
Imho, good words from bad teachers may stand alone for us, as expressed concepts will primarily be understood in light of their relevance to our own experience & not relative to the messenger.
Imo also, the words are ‘good’ if this relevancy holds in practice. What’s useless is ultimately abandoned.
Perfectly said WW, just perfectly said.
I believe that no one has ownership of truth, each of us live within our own understanding and experiences of what we call truth. . .so when you look for the highest meaning in things it seems we find it, regardless of who offers it to us.
Yes, exactly. Thanks for stating this more clearly than I have.
Thank you for sharing these perceptions with us, Shirl. What a lovely perspective — aritculated beautifully!
I’m reminded of a meditation advised by Thich Nhat Hahn: in breathing in, remember that ‘I have arrived’. In breathing out, remember that ‘I am home’.
This means that we are present in the stars, as well as they’re present for us.
Blessings,
I love Thich Nhat Hahn, and I especially love the meditation: I have arrived, I am home.
I also am fond of: I breathe in light, I breathe out love.
As for being present in the stars and they in us. . .I think I am the embodiment of that, n’est pas? (a little metaphysical humor, eh)
Loves and hugs, my favorite wench,
Shirl
The embodiment indeed, Shirl!
Love that metaphysical humor.
đŸ™‚
Love & hugs to you as well, stellar lady.
from one of the many Taoist readings I have seen, the author of which escapes me:
and, in honour of your spirit:
we are the stars which sing
we sing with our light;
we are the birds of fire,
we fly over the sky.
our light is a voice;
we make a road for the spirit to pass over
algonquian indian incantation
Peace and blessings to you Shirl of the Stars.
Both the Tao and our beautiful native people. . .My! what a gift, I thank you so much. I am deeply moved.
I wish the same blessings of Peace and Love for you, my friend. I’ve seen your footprints in the stars.
Hugs and Blessings
Shirl