“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 directions.”

Osho “God is Dead: Now Zen is the Only Living Truth, Ch. 1

Painting by Christina Acosta
"Mother Earth and Her Moon -- Meditation on a Star"
http://www.cristinaacosta.com/.docs/pg/10105

Honest Living

You don't have to work for a living. You can create for a life. We have gotten our notion of livelihood terribly crosswired. Many of us believe that an honest living is one in which we struggle and toil at something we hate, and the reward for our hardship is money. This is not so. It is but a sick belief system that we have reinforced by agreement. There is another way.

Buckminster Fuller noted that "human beings are the only creatures on the planet who tell time and believe they have to earn a living." Jesus taught the same truth in a metaphor: "Behold the lilies of the field. They do not toil and neither do the sow. Yet I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." The Master went on, "will your heavenly Father not take even better care of you, who are his Children?"

From Alan Cohen, "I Had it All the Time" p. 250

Image entitled "Lilies of the Field #3"
by Jane Halliwell Green who can be contacted at
www.paintpencil.com

When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden...

The Liberation of Commitment

The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in
play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal
critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around
as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the
barrier to your life.

--- Anne Morriss, Starbucks customer from New York City.
She describes herself as an "organization builder,
restless American citizen, optimist."

Another marker on the way...

The hardest times have been when it looks as though nothing is happening, or, worse, when it looks as though something is definitely wrong in my life. "It's not working," I say to myself...I have to keep reminding myself that nothing is wasted time. I may not understand what is happening, but I can begin to appreciate that the impasse is another marker on the way.
From "Plain and Simple - A woman's journey to the Amish" by Sue Bender

Get Back Up

Here is a video clip from a young man, Nick Vujicic, who was born with no arms or legs and now travels the world sharing an inspiring message of hope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MslbhDZoniY