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“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”
— Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

Paulo Coelho is one of my favorite author/philosophers. His books have been read world-wide. Two of my favorites are THE ALCHEMIST and THE ZAHIR. He constantly revisits the importance of faith, focus, persistence and chasing your dreams.

“A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.”
— Paulo Coelho

The is a lot to be said about using a laser focus to achieve your dreams. When writing a novel, I have to set aside all distractions and focus for days, weeks, months on end to get to the goal. And that is just the first draft. I have literally forged ahead for years with only a dream of being a published author in my sight, with no idea how to take the next step. The actual publishing of the book has taken on a magical, mystical aspect. Serendipity is a word that is revered around here.

“When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.”
— Paulo Coelho (Brida)

When we stray from our goal, lose our faith and focus, we build the obstacles that appear in front of us. The overused cliche is a “self-fulfilling prophesy.” If you want to achieve your dreams you must never lose sight of them. It is okay to misstep, to make mistakes. It is through the mistakes that we learn and grow.

My friend Jon likes to say “You have to start with a ‘why.'” Why do you do what you do? What is your ultimate dream? Is it a new car, a new house, financial stability, falling in love? Visualize what it is that you desire most. Do it every day. Take another step on the path. If you have faith, focus, and persistence, your dream will surely follow.

Namaste, wb

Imagine a life where the sun rises at the same time every day, the temperature is always 72 degrees, the sun is always shining, the moon is always full and beautiful, and all the people of the world think alike.

There are no car wrecks, no crime, everyone is well-fed, and a homeless person only exists in fiction.

All attend the same church, everyone says their prayers at night, and all are good and just and go to heaven.

Pretty boring, right?

It is never going to happen. There is no Utopian rainbow on the horizon. There are going to be inclement days, mean people, injustice, and unexpected expenses.

There are going to be days when you oversleep, when the car doesn’t start, when the kids are sick, when the milk goes sour, when the pizza is an hour overdue, when your team loses a game they should have won.

How do you react?

Anger, resignation, stress, rage, tears?

It is life’s little hiccups that make life interesting. Sure, it is nice to have a routine that goes uninterrupted on most days. You’ll have that one day out of ten when you run into a traffic jam or have a flat tire. Did you leave early enough to allow for it? How do you handle the unexpected?

I say sieze it. Make it yours.
A person is unexpectedly mean to you, give them a smile. Chances are they are having a bad day. If you don’t know them it can’t be personal, right?

The guy at the drive-thru messes up your order. How do you react? Do you lash out in anger? Do you call the corporate office? Do you never eat at that restaurant again? I have had all of those reactions. Now I view it as fate. I got to the window at the wrong time. I took the wrong route. I should have brought my lunch.

I should have brought my lunch.

A lot of the little glitches in our life can be avoided if we do the right thing.

We are an instant gratification, over-consuming society. We expect top-shelf service from minimum-wage employees and get angry when we don’t get it. Do you really need that over-priced over-caloried sandwich anyway?

When you run into that traffic jam on 270 do you get road rage? Did you give yourself enough time to absorb it? Do you think the cars in the wreck did this on purpose, just to make you late. Turn up the radio, throw in your favorite cd, kick back and enjoy the rare moment that you have to yourself. Meditate on the joy that the rest of the days holds.

And next time, leave a little earlier, and by all means pack that lunch.

Namaste, friends

wb

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh

If the First Noble Truth is “life means suffering” then how do we get to the Fourth Noble Truth “the path to the end of suffering?”

Life in this 21st Century has become a series of stresses that seem designed to perpetuate our suffering. Many of us work two jobs to make ends meet, families require two incomes to afford the strangers that raise their children, unemployment rates are sky-high, there is the threat of an increased retirement age, our children’s future might be a welfare state or a new third world, and we live life hand to mouth and paycheck to paycheck.

The answer might be a simple as going back to basics. Sitting back and smelling the coffee. Do you ever ask yourself, “Do I really need that new TV?” or “Do I have time to drive through the McDonalds and eat in the car on the way to work?” or “Should I stay up and watch Leno or should I get a good night of sleep for the morrow?” or “Should I have another beer before I go home?” If you have to ask yourself any of these questions, then you probably already know that the answer is no.

The path to the end of suffering seems to be simple. Surround yourself with good people. Consume less. Conserve more. Donate as much of your time as you can, especially if you’re donating it to your family or the ones you love. Cook your meals. Keep a regular sleep schedule. Exercise. Be kind. Do good things. Make another person happy. Smile. You will be happier, less stressed out, less likely to suffer.

on snap judgments

when you encounter a person
for the first time
you are seeing
only a snapshot
much like the surface of a lake

it is important to remember
that the lake
and the person
have incalculable depth

only through care and compassion
can you discover
what lies beneath that thin layer
that is readily apparent