A Mindful Life

I haven’t been writing much lately. Haven’t spent much time reading blogs or online news, either.
Rather, I’ve been cooking more, reading books, and getting crafty. Last weekend I made this:

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
–Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
Today this quote resonates, yet two days ago it would not have. Contrary to my general demeanor on this site (of being a rather “put-together” person), it was a difficult ten [...]

Take A BreathJust a little time, is all I ask. Sitnext to me, and we shall lean togetherlike old-growth timber.
We will be still, except for the softshush of our breathing, cool on intake,warm exhalation.
Trees practice tonglen, inhaling deadair, exuding fresh – imperceptibleexcept to the wind.
Every breath is a gift.

I recently upgraded to Flickr Pro, which of course required a small investment for some added frills.
Well, I received notice today that in appreciation, they extended my membership one year and provided two one-year gift memberships. So I gave one to Klugarsh and another to Riddle.
It was a nice little day brightener.

By being attentive, by learning to listen (or recovering the natural capacity to listen which cannot be learned any more than breathing), we can find ourself engulfed in such happiness that it cannot be explained; the happiness of being at one with everything in that hidden ground of Love for which there can be no [...]

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the [...]

But there’s a great reason for it. I spent three hours hoeing and raking at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden. The tagline on their site says, “…delighting you with a world class collection of almost 5,000 plants of more than 3,500 varieties of heritage, modern and miniature roses, initially planted by more [...]

A reader, Pat, asked if the phrase “love comes from years/of breathing/skin to skin” (from the poem in the last post) might also apply to cats. I told him I thought so. And then this SARK quote sprang to mind.

Cats Are Angels with Fur
Surrender, You are now entering the tunnel of Cat [...]

The Kama Sutra of Kindness: Position No. 2
should I greet youas ifwe had merely eatentogether one nightwhen the white birchesdripped wetand lightning etchedblack trees on your walls?
it is not loveI am asking
love comes from yearsof breathingskin to skintangled in each other’s dreamsuntil each nightweaves another threadin the same webof blood and sleep
     and I have only     passed [...]

I found this moving, and oddly comforting.
We placed a linen cloth over her face, and tied the bonnet on, and then she was a bundled white human-shaped figure: no features, no distinguishing marks, only legs and arms, a torso and a head, a small still white figure. A little awkwardly we lifted her and placed [...]