“True action, good and radiant action, my friends, does not spring from activity, from busy bustling, it does not spring from industrious hammering. It grows in the solitude of the mountains, it grows on the summits where silence and danger dwell.” 

– Hermann Hesse

I don't think anyone can grow unless they are loved exactly as they are now, appreciated for what they are rather than what they will be.
-FR

A quote I saw at the tea shop yesterday that I like.

"There is a place in the soul that neither time, nor space, nor no created things can touch."
- Meister Eckhart

"Your identity is not equivalent to your biography and there is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there is still a sureness in you, where there's a seamlessness in you and where there is confidence and tranquility in you. The intention of prayer and spirituality and love is now and again to visit that inner kind of sanctuary."
- John O'Donohue on OnBeing with Krista Tippett

one little cloud

Death ends a chapter or begins another, it's never just a text-heavy page. For how much time people spend thinking about dying, it might as well be an errand to run or a TiVo episode to watch. Probably yet another reason why, when it happens, expected or not, it's always shocking.  

Its presence dominates the psyche like a master ninja, striking hard and retreating to invisibility. The aftermath is a tornado of loose thoughts, unchained emotions, and shifting perspectives. Expressing grief (or not) is as disorienting. 

Memories start to playback on a constant reel. Alone or together, so many details come to the surface. Taking stock of all those quirks, th  important and the nonsense on equal ground, is cathartic and seems honorable, sending off a soul with respect and recognition of all that happened here. 

nugget of pessimistic optimism

Kurt Vonnegut's MO, somehow he manages to be simultaneously jaded and giddy at the same time. He's just light-heartedly chuckling about the hopelessness of the human race. You know, that's all..

I read Cat's Cradle recently in which he makes up a whole religion that doubles back on itself. The first tenant being: “All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies." I walked away with his point being that the lies of religion make people happier than the truth derived from science. 

I wouldn't say I agree, but I still think it is a sound argument. I see it like trying a case without a weapon, DNA, or witnesses. You put together the pieces as best you can, and it seems to make sense with what you have in front of you. But you are working with a short deck. There's this great book with thought-provoking ideas and reasonable assumptions based on a narrow scope of humanity, its actions and effects. Given what society works with, these ideas about religion and science sadly seem to make sense and I can appreciate the casework. But I do think the real picture is a much bigger mystery, outside of the scope of the duality of these two constantly warring sides - religion and science. The unseen knots that bind us, quantum physics, galaxies beyond ours, wave particle paradox and observer effect, the brain, memory, love. None of it can be explained away in terms of science or conventional religion for that matter. Though there may be answers in both, and answers enough for the individual, which is all that matters sometimes, especially if you think that we are only working with one lifetime. Those answers might be enough. For me though, there is comfort in all the questions. 

I had to post this because I think her views on this are so inspiring.

The original picture was of a Sikh woman with facial hair, taken by someone on an online forum for laughs. A friend told the woman, Balpreet Kaur, that the picture was all over the internet. Balpreet decided to get online and respond. Here's what she wrote:

"Hey, guys. This is Balpreet Kaur, the girl from the picture. I actually didn't know about this until one of my friends told on facebook. If the OP wanted a picture, they could have just asked and I could have smiled However, I’m not embarrassed or even humiliated by the attention [negative and positive] that this picture is getting because, it’s who I am. Yes, I’m a baptized Sikh woman with facial hair. Yes, I realize that my gender is often confused and I look different than most women. However, baptized Sikhs believe in the sacredness of this body – it is a gift that has been given to us by the Divine Being [which is genderless, actually] and, must keep it intact as a submission to the divine will. Just as a child doesn't reject the gift of his/her parents, Sikhs do not reject the body that has been given to us. By crying ‘mine, mine’ and changing this body-tool, we are essentially living in ego and creating a separateness between ourselves and the divinity within us. By transcending societal views of beauty, I believe that I can focus more on my actions. My attitude and thoughts and actions have more value in them than my body because I recognize that this body is just going to become ash in the end, so why fuss about it? When I die, no one is going to remember what I looked like, heck, my kids will forget my voice, and slowly, all physical memory will fade away. However, my impact and legacy will remain: and, by not focusing on the physical beauty, I have time to cultivate those inner virtues and hopefully, focus my life on creating change and progress for this world in any way I can. So, to me, my face isn’t important but the smile and the happiness that lie behind the face are. So, if anyone sees me at OSU, please come up and say hello. I appreciate all of the comments here, both positive and less positive because I’ve gotten a better understanding of myself and others from this. Also, the yoga pants are quite comfortable and the Better Together tshirt is actually from Interfaith Youth Core, an organization that focuses on storytelling and engagement between different faiths. I hope this explains everything a bit more, and I apologize for causing such confusion and uttering anything that hurt anyone."

The original poster obviously learned something. He came back and apologized.

Rabindranath Tagore

Fireflies by Rabindranath Tagore

A few years ago a dear friend of mine lost her mother who had been sick for some time with cancer. She sent out a clipping of her mother's obituary a few weeks later and with it included a quote from Rabindranath Tagore. It reads:

“Death is not extinguishing the light; 
it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.” 

Isn't that the most beautiful, poetic way to describe death? Especially after so much suffering. If you believe in an afterlife, as I do, what a simple way to view the end of this life, as the dawn of a new day.  

My friend happened to visit this summer. She spotted this book, Fireflies, at a thrift store and later gave it to me! I can't describe what a profound book this is. I highly recommend it. Every little poem is so simple, yet so full of wisdom. 

"While God waits for His temple to be built of love, 
men bring stones."

"My heart today smiles at the past night of tears 
like a wet tree glistening in the sun after the rain is over."

"Life's errors cry for the merciful beauty 
that can modulate their isolation 
into a harmony with the whole"