Obedience to the nature of things

At moments when outer and inner circumstances lend themselves to it we reflect upon the understanding of our spontaneous liberation, we think with force, and in the most concrete manner possible, of the unlimited prodigy which is in process of elaboration for us and which will some day resolve all our fears, all our covetousness. In such moments we seed and re-seed the field of our faith; we awaken little by little in ourselves this faith which was sleeping, and the hope and the love which accompany it. Then we turn back to living as usual. Because we have thought correctly for a moment a portion of our attention remains attached to this plane of thought, although this plane penetrates the depths of our being and is lost to sight.... In the measure in which this second subterranean attention develops we will perceive a less compelling interest in the world of phenomena; our fears and our covetousness will lose their keenness. We will be able to learn how to be discreet, non-active, towards our inner world and we will thus become able to realize this counsel of Zen: 'Let go, leave things as they may be...' Be obedient to the nature of things and you are in accord with the Way.

From Chapter 13, Obedience to the Nature of Things, in The Supreme Doctrine: Psychological Studies in ZEN Thought, by Hubert Benoit

quads
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Love is warm

DLW 2. What the life of man is, no one knows unless he knows that it is love. If this is not known, one person may believe that man's life is nothing but perceiving with the senses and acting, and another that it is merely thinking; and yet thought is the first effect of life, and sensation and action are the second effect of life. Thought is here said to be the first effect of life, yet there is thought which is interior and more interior, also exterior and more exterior. What is actually the first effect of life is inmost thought, which is the perception of ends. But of all this hereafter, when the degrees of life are considered.

DLW 3. Some idea of love, as being the life of man, may be had from the sun's heat in the world. This heat is well known to be the common life, as it were, of all the vegetations of the earth. For by virtue of heat, coming forth in springtime, plants of every kind rise from the ground, deck themselves with leaves, then with blossoms, and finally with fruits, and thus, in a sense, live. But when, in the time of autumn and winter, heat withdraws, the plants are stripped of these signs of their life, and they wither. So it is with love in man; for heat and love mutually correspond. Therefore love also is warm.
Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

I love this tree

Beauty is everywhere
All rights reserved 2005 pic by muddnet
Here stands an old warrior,besiged by time,yet everstanding tall.He was here when none of us were,and probably will be here long after we have gone.Have you ever touched a tree and talked to it like it was alive?They are our friends,and everything made from them is alive also.Native peoples knew this,we have just forgotten.

red clovers
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Who I am

"Who I Am"

I am not my hair, my eyes, my nose or my mouth.
I am not my skin or the shape of any of my body parts.
I am not the IQ of my brain.

I am not the sound of my voice or the volume of my laughter.
I am not my strengths or any of my weaknesses.
I am not the level of my skills.

The temple of my physical makeup is a culmination of genetics.
It reveals nothing about the person who resides within.
I take no credit or point no blame for the way I look.
My temple is perfect, as is.

This body is not who I am.
It is an exquisitely perfect dwelling for my soul.
Everything about it is exactly as it should be.
No other, anywhere, ever, could serve my soul as well.

I am not anything you can see with your eyes
or touch with your hands. Should you judge me
by that criteria, you will never know me.

I am not a dumping ground for bias that's based
on a man-made standard, and I do not accept the
prejudice it creates.

I am a union of body, mind and spirit, a trio, not a solo.

To know me, is to know yourself.

Those who hear the voice of their soul, recognize the song
in mine. They do not stop at the front door and judge me
by the dwelling in which I reside. With a humble sense of
honor, they knock upon the door and ask to come in.

The judgment of others does not change who I am.
Quite the opposite is true. It reveals who they are.

Those who deem me unworthy at a glance and pass me on by,
have my blessing to keep walking, for they have a long way to
go. They have not reached the point in their journey where
they are able to see and appreciate me for who I am.

I will accept no less.