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Post by suze on Sept 16, 2010 7:21:44 GMT
Sept 16th -- thought from the Dalai Lama
To familiarize ourselves with the virtue of patience, it is very helpful to think of adversity not so much as a threat to our peace of mind but rather as the very means by which patience is attained.
From this perspective, we see that those who would harm us are, in a sense, teachers of patience. Such people teach us what we could never learn merely from hearing someone speak, be they ever so wise or holy.
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Post by suze on Oct 11, 2010 8:18:44 GMT
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Post by suze on Nov 15, 2010 22:23:49 GMT
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Post by anne on Nov 22, 2010 20:48:05 GMT
Haven't seen this before but I love that dance! ;D I shall read the websites more carefully .. but here are a few of my favourite short quotes by Thich Nhat Hanh ..
"Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet."
"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar."
"To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now."
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Post by suze on Nov 23, 2010 10:03:18 GMT
I wrote this for a friend's blog when a few cancer patients were exclaiming about the silly things ppl can say to us I'm not sure is was saved so I am saving it here ---------------- I know exactly what you mean, I did get pretty aireated before my last scan when one women kept saying it would be alright, and this from a woman who has had breast cancer herself! You think , oh right, there is no need for a CT scan then, your x ray eyes have had a good look around my tatty innards, have they? I feel that sort of platitude is a denial of my reality, a way of not even letting me be anxious about what the news will be when you pretty much know it is going to be bad, cos that is what advanced cancer is! BAD NEWS and all you really expect from your scans is to find out just how BAD is it this time? When she says it'll be alright it is like I have to shut up, you can hardly argue and say oh no it'll be awful, cos of course that is not what you want ..evn though it is what you expect ! Funnly enough, she was right this time, and that's an irony, I have escaped more chemo again for a while .. so no doubt she feels justified in her crystal ball-ery! LOL But in general, I let it go, whatever people say to me, I let it go ... it does me no good to get upset by other people's inability to deal with my reality so I breath in and breath out and let the silliness go on the air, I sometimes even smile or laugh at them, for my own sake as much as theirs, cos harbouring upsets and bad feelings is not the calmness I want as part of my own treatment plan .. though sometimes I DO tell my best mates / family about these errors IN OTHER PEOPLE ..which is, I guess, a way of educating my nearest and dearest to avoid the same pitfalls .. I don't think any of these people who say things that sound daft to me are trying to annoy me, in general I think they are trying to show respect when they waffle on about bravery and inspiration .. and they do not have an easy vocabulary for saying those things .. and maybe what they just mean is they are glad it is not them, or they hate to even think about what it is like, and they don't know how they would cope But neither did we until we had to, and really coping without choice is what we do, and what anyone would do if they got a diagnosis like ours ..
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Post by anne on Nov 25, 2010 22:48:35 GMT
I can understand that.
I suppose one of my own biggest platitudes is to reply, "people mean well" ... and I suppose they do most times, but they are also saying the easiest thing regardless of whether it's either true or meaningful.
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Post by suze on Dec 6, 2010 16:26:03 GMT
Begin doing what you want to do now.
We are not living in eternity.
We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake.
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Post by suze on Jan 3, 2011 22:23:09 GMT
Dear Lord and Father of mankind, Forgive our foolish ways! Re-clothe us in our rightful mind, In purer lives thy service find, In deeper reverence praise. In deeper reverence praise. In simple trust like theirs who heard, Beside the Syrian sea, The gracious calling of the Lord, Let us, like them, without a word Rise up and follow thee. Rise up and follow thee. O Sabbath rest by Galilee! O calm of hills above, Where Jesus knelt to share with thee The silence of eternity, Interpreted by love! Interpreted by love! Drop thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of thy peace. The beauty of thy peace. Breathe through the heats of our desire Thy coolness and thy balm; Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still small voice of calm! O still small voice of calm! www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqOnjmr9Ah0
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Post by suze on Jan 15, 2011 18:08:14 GMT
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Post by suze on Apr 29, 2011 10:43:32 GMT
On the Royal Wedding Day pleased to hear this reading from Roman 12, which is very Yoga / Anadi in its philosophy:
Romans 12 A Living Sacrifice 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yourfaith;
7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Love in Action 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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Post by anne on Apr 29, 2011 19:41:04 GMT
Beautiful expressions ..
One of my FL friends who is herself chronically ill posted this on my wall today, liked it so much I have to copy it down somewhere and here on this thread seems eminently suitable .. I know it's a dreadful cliche when people suggest it's an idea to look for the good in everything and sometimes you want to punch them, but this is quite well expressed I think.
"A Prayer" by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Refuse to fall down If you cannot refuse to fall down, refuse to stay down. If you cannot refuse to stay down, lift your heart toward heaven, and like a hungry beggar, ask that it be filled. You may be pushed down. You may be kept from rising. But no one can keep you from lifting your heart toward heaven only you. It is in the middle of misery that so much becomes clear. The one who says nothing good came of this, is not yet listening.
(The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale About That Which Can Never Die)
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Post by suze on May 15, 2011 7:41:56 GMT
"He liked and admired a great many women collectively and dispassionately without singling out one for especial matrimonial consideration, just as one might admire the Alps without feeling that one wanted any particular peak as one's own private property."
This is obviously funny, but also TRUE about so much in life, I would like to be more admiring and less acquisitive in my life x
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Post by suze on May 24, 2011 10:08:04 GMT
re positive thinking ...
I must say, I mostly don't spend long worrying about a return to treatment, and can pretty much enjoy my life, as it is .. I feel so lucky most of the time ! I honestly think I enjoy my life more than many folk who haven't been where I have, simply cos the cancer experience has thrown it all into such sharp perspective for me ... and that includes, for me, being relaxed about my own mortality . . . But just for a short while before the scans ... it's not surprising, let's face it, the odds are stacked against any of us who've had advanced cancer .... the numbers who survive that really are pretty small ... <shudders> and I think it is the prospect of closing down options and the way chemo limits/intferes with my life rather than the actual DEATH thing that bothers me most! It IS, it really IS scarey! I read this recently in my favourite book (pages 226-227) It's about work done by Dr David Speigel .. he's spent more than 30 years supporing seriously ill patients ... and he believes in the importance of humour and optimism to stimulate the body's natural defences ... BUT he also warns patients not to get locked into the "prison of positive thinking" .. he believes that not talking about our fears contributes to making the condition worse ... I have found this when comparing some of my pals' reactions to me if I open the gambit of discussing my prognosis .. I get really tense when people just brush it away with some positive platitude ... "It'll be alright" or just tell me to "Stay positive .... " ARGH .. I spend 24/7 being positive most months, so I feel they are igoring my real needs and putting their heads in the sand .. probably for their own comfort ... Whereas my very best and most supportive family and friends will let me talk, and maybe even get a bit teraful together, then the next minute we'll be back enjoying doing what ever thing we were doing before the somber sutff, and I fell validated, listened to, and back to enjoying my life So Dr Speigel and I agree, he rejects a naive, blanket commandment of "positive thinking" and repalces it with a more realistic credo: "hope for the best but be prepared for the worst" ...
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Post by suze on May 26, 2011 16:12:19 GMT
We can't direct the wind but we can adjust our sails. x
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Post by suze on Jul 12, 2011 23:02:49 GMT
Remember when teachers, police officers, ambulance staff, nurses, allied health professionals, doctors & firefighters, crashed the stock markets, wiped out banks, took billions in bonuses and paid no tax? No? Me neither!! Please copy & paste to your status to show your support against the Governments latest attack on pensions & public sector workers. Grrr dont get me started.........
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