Category Archives: Thought

Wild, A Memoir by Cheryl Strayed

This book, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed is the story of  a young married woman, whose mother, always close to her, died when she was twenty-two years old. DSC03641 It is a very good account of the deep sense of loss and grief that a young woman can feel when her close mother dies.   Below are three of the very compelling passages, embedded in this very compelling account. DSC03642 The paragraph to note here is the short one “But now that she was dying, I knew everything,  My mother was in me already.  Not just the parts of her that I knew, but the parts of her that had come before me, too.” DSC03643 The passages here which resonated was, “Nothing could bring my mother back, or make it okay that she was gone”; “I would suffer, I would suffer,  I would want things to be different than they were.”

Included as one of the books in Oprah’s book club, this is a fascinating ,journal-based book about how this young woman lost her way, after her mother died, and then found her way again as she hiked on the very rugged and wild Pacific Crest Trail.

Four Boundless Qualities In Buddhism

Gong, 10277556_10203953053215490_232904504218129824_n This gong symbolizes Compassion for all.  This gong is in my home, carries the Tibetan prayer for Compassion.  The color pink can represent Compassion.

Fawn, Public Domain 800px-White_tail_fawn This fawn represents Loving-kindness for all.  This photograph is a public domain photograph which I found when I Google the word  “fawn”.   The fawn can represent kindess, and Loving-kindess  means that one wishes all others to be happy.   Kindness does not seem to have a representative color.  The rainbow can represent kindness, and so can blue and green.  Blue also can represent health.

Bell on Yellow Hot Mat for Joy of Others. DSC03552 This bell and the yellow color symbolize the desire of Joy for others.  This photograph is from my home.  In Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, he certainly used bells to show joy. 12422416221542450468Esoteric_Taijitu.svg.hi This Yang-Yin symbol represents Equanimity or balance.  We just are, and we can be good or evil.  In fact what is good for one can be evil for another.  In a way we come full circle when we realize this.  There are many dimensions in which we can seek balance among others, and in our world. So where do I stand.?

  • I already have a rational Compassion for everybody and everything.
  • I am in need of, and aim to cultivate Equanimity.  I have to go deeper than merely recognizing this fact, because I see that I am very far from this.
  • I do need to cultivate Loving-kindness on a wider scale.
  • I do need to cultivate Joy for others in a wider scope.

If one thinks about it, then the first three are shades of goodwill toward others.

  • We do not want others to suffer.
  • We want others to be happy.
  • We want others to experience joy.

It almost follows that we can have more equanimity with respect to others,  if we cultivate these three boundless qualities.   It really pleases me that these are boundless qualities.   We all can have as much as we need of these, as we need them.  Cultivated thoughts in these directions can help us be ready when the opportunity presents itself to have a helpful word or action. After we have carried these out for awhile, then we will receive the equanimity  in relation to others that we seek. I would like it if my symbols were more stylistically similar, but that may take awhile.

Three Kinds Of Personal Skills To Know About Oneself

 

DSC03586 In the July 13, 2014 issue of The Galveston County Daily News was this article on job seeking by Patricia Rivera of CTW Features.

DSC03584  She begins the article with a comment that one is wise to know oneself, and proceeds to say that before a job interview  one should assess these kinds of skills in oneself, and tell the interviewer about those skill you have that he will wants to have in the position for which you are interviewing.

Work is part of life, and one should know what these are anyway.  This is all part of what I am examining in myself right now.    We should know and communicate our:

  1. Knowledge we gained through experience and education.   I have a BA, an MA,  numerous additional courses.
  2. Portable and general and transferable skills.  I can teach, break things down into their elements, and see the  big pictures.   I know how to learn, and keep learning.
  3. Unique personal qualities.  I am patient in carrying out tasks, thorough, and want to do a good job.  I am self-motivated.  I want to help mankind become a sustainable entity on the face of the earth.

To perform this exercise is right in line with the soul work I am taking on right now.  These tasks can be summed up by these two sayings:

  1. Know thyself (Socrates).
  2. To thine own self be true (Shakespeare, Hamlet)