K E E P   G O I N G  

 

YOU NEVER KNOW 

WHAT'S AROUND THE CORNER

 

sistercody

If you are looking for a sign to keep going on your journey, please let this be it.

 

 If you are looking for a sign to stay alive, please let this be it.

 

 Life is a wild ride and a lot of times it’s hard to make sense of. 

 

So many things happening all at once, it can feel so overwhelming to just get a grip on reality. 

 

There is so much going on in the outer world, and then just as much going on in the inner world. 

 

It gets confusing at times. It gets dark and scary at times. 

 

Some days we wonder how we can make it another day, but we do. 

And what I’ve noticed in life is that change is always happening

 

 So the more we hold on to a single idea or expectations, the more we will suffer. 

 

Change is a huge part of life. 

 

From the weather, the seasons, our moods, thoughts, even down to the cells that make up our bodies. 

 

All constantly changing.

 

 So if you are going through a hard time, know that it will not last forever. 

 

And know that you are never alone. 

I myself have been feeling the heaviness of change. 

 

Feeling lost at times. 

 

Feeling dissociated. 

 

Feeling numb. 

 

But I see that it is all a part of this journey.

 

 And the more I cling to any certain thing, the more life will drag me around.

 

 I am learning to be graceful with myself and change.

 

 To flow with it. 

 

Remembering that change is also a beautiful thing.

 

 And that without change I wouldn’t be where I am. 

 

So if you are looking for a sign, please let this be it. 

 

You never know what’s right around the corner. 

 

🌻🌞💛

 

 

 Het leven draait niet om een zoektocht naar jezelf.

 Het draait om het creëeren van jezelf.

-George Bernard Shaw-

 

 

R.I.P. K. Schippers

 

 

Addiction is not a choice that anybody makes; 

it’s not a moral failure; 

it’s not an ethical lapse;

 it’s not a weakness of character; 

it’s not a failure of will,

 which is how our society depicts addiction. 

Nor is it an inherited brain disease,

which is how our medical tendency is to see it.

 What it actually is:

 it’s a response to human suffering.

 -Dr. Gabor Maté-

 

 

findingawareness

If we have to sacrifice ourselves in the process of accepting someone, is that really acceptance? Or is it our need for security, simply overpowering our desire for self-preservation?

When we really need the other person to fulfill us, we do anything to keep them near. We bend over backwards and often go overboard in serving their happiness.

What use has acceptance if it brings pain ? What use is it if we lose our dignity or core values? Acceptance is true, only when it brings balance to our mind.

If it brings peace to our relationships, without taking away our peace of mind, that’s acceptance. Otherwise it’s just tolerance.

Tolerance creates conflict. Acceptance ends it.

 

 

 

 Sometimes you get what you want. 

Other times, you get a lesson in patience, timing, alignment, empathy, compassion, faith, perseverance, resilience, humility, trust, meaning, awareness, resistance, purpose, clarity, grief, beauty, and life. 

Either way, you win.

- Brianna Wiest -

For a table to exist, we need wood, a carpenter, time, skillfulness, and many other causes.

 And each of these causes needs other causes to be. 

The wood needs the forest, the sunshine, the rain, and so on. 

The carpenter needs his parents, breakfast, fresh air, and so on. 

And each of those things, in turn, has to be brought about by other conditions.

 If we continue to look in this way, we'll see that nothing has been left out. 

Everything in the cosmos has come together to bring us this table. 

Looking deeply at the sunshine, the leaves of the tree, and the clouds, we can see the table. 

The one can be seen in the all, and the all can be seen in the one.

 

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

 

 

 

 Sometimes when we attempt to listen to another person, we can’t hear them because we haven’t listened to ourselves first. 

Our own strong emotions and thoughts are so loud in our heart and in our head, crying out for our attention, that we can’t hear the other person. 

Before we listen to another, we need to spend time listening to ourselves. 

We can sit with ourselves, come home to ourselves, and listen to what emotions rise up, without judging or interrupting them. 

We can listen to whatever thoughts come up as well, and then let them pass without holding on to them. 

Then, when we’ve spent some time listening to ourselves, we are able to listen to those around us. 

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

 

 

 

Als jouw leven een film was,

wat zou dan de titel zijn?

 

 

 

 

 Death puts things into perspective... 

Do I really want to hold a grudge? 

Is this really worth my time? 

Is this who I want to spend my time with? 

How will I feel looking back on my life when my time comes?

- Tiny Buddha - 

 

 The best way for us to share our practice with our families is through our way of living, not through our words. 

It is possible for us to drive our cars mindfully, enjoying breathing in and out, not letting ourselves be carried away by thinking about the past, the future, and our projects. 

And when we come to a red light, we smile to it as a friend, not as an enemy, because the red light says, “Stop! Go back to your breathing, and enjoy it.” 

Before you open the door when you get home, you might pause and breathe in and out three times and smile, so that when your loved ones see you, you will be more pleasant after a hard day’s work. 

When you make breakfast, you can transform breakfast making into a practice of love and happiness. 

Enjoy every moment of your breakfast making, and the kitchen will become a meditation hall. 

There is peace and calm, and you may invite your partner, your child, to join you. 

Then when you eat breakfast, eat in such a way that peace and freedom are possible. 

When you brush your teeth, can you take those one or two minutes to brush them in freedom and joy?

 And when you sit down and enjoy your tea or coffee after lunch, be peaceful, be free, and enjoy it deeply. 

Be fully present for your tea or coffee. 

It is possible for us to be grounded in the present moment and live each moment deeply with the energy of mindfulness and joy.

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

 

 

 

 

 No apologizing today.

The world will catch up or maybe it won't 

It really doesn't matter.

What does matter 

is that you respect and honor 

your own authenticity and truth enough

 to not apologize for the beauty 

and radiance of your own uniqueness. 

 

 

 

  There are moments when we feel lost, 

we feel confused, 

we don’t know what is the right thing to do.

 To fight back or not to fight back? 

To say something or not? 

To leave or to stay? 

We are confused. 

The best thing to do in that moment is to stop

 and go home to yourself with mindful breathing.

 Bringing awareness to our breathing, 

we calm down and have more clarity. 

In a state of confusion, fear can be born, 

and we may do things that make the situation worse. 

So the right thing to do is not to do anything. 

Just go home to yourself and practice mindful breathing in order to be your best. 

Because if you have enough tranquility, calm, and peace, 

the insight will come

 as to what is the best thing to say or do

 to help the situation. 

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

 

 I think the hardest thing for anyone

 is accepting that other people are real as you are. 

That’s it.

 Not using them as tools, 

 not using them as examples 

or things to make yourself feel better 

or things to get over or under. 

Just accepting that they are 

absolutely as real as you are.

-   Zadie Smith-

NITCH

 

 

 To work with changes now, in life: 

That is the real way to prepare for death.

 Life may be full of pain, suffering, and difficulty, 

but all of these are opportunities handed to us 

to help us move toward an emotional acceptance of death. 

It is only when we believe things to be permanent 

that we shut off the possibility of learning from change.

- Rigpa Glimpse of the day - 

 

 

 When we meet the unknown, 

we can believe we are out of place. 

But, in fact,

 I believe that we are reoriented.

-  Rene Magritte -

NITCH

 

 

Een vraag die begint met    ‘moet je eigenlijk niet gewoon’,    is helemaal geen vraag.

 

You (2018– )

 
 

 

 We have those who will love us 

even if we cut them into pieces,

 and those who will hate us

 even if we feed them pure honey. 

- Imam Ali -

 

 

 

 

 We need a safe place to let go—

in the arms of someone we love,

 a chair in the corner of a dark room,

 under the oak tree in the courtyard on our lunch break. 

And then the other thing we need, 

is to know it’s okay to cry.

- Jason Garner -

 

 

The poem, the song, the picture,

 is only water drawn from the well of the people,

 and it should be given back to them 

in a cup of beauty 

so that they may drink…

and in drinking understand themselves.

-   Federico Garcia Lorca  -

NITCH

 

 Merci Frieda !

 

 Simplicity slows down life 

and frees us from this modern hysteria 

to live faster.

It finds freedom to disengage.

 
- Joshua Becker -

 

 If all you can do is crawl,

 start crawling.

- Rumi -

The Original 'Bolero on one Cello' - Bedankt Frieda !

 

Someone said:

the version of me

 you created in your mind 

is not my responsability

 

 

 

 Nothing can survive without food.

 Everything we consume acts either to heal us or to poison us. 

We tend to think of nourishment only as what we take in through our mouths, but what we consume with our eyes, our ears, our noses, our tongues, and our bodies is also food. 

The conversations going on around us, and those we participate in, are also food. 

Are we consuming and creating the kind of food that is healthy for us and helps us grow?

When we say something that nourishes us and uplifts the people around us, we are feeding love and compassion.

 

When we speak and act in a way that causes tension and anger, we are nourishing violence and suffering.

 

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

 

 

 Goedele Liekens: “Zelfs als het slecht afloopt, zal ik dankbaar zijn”

“Soms voel ik me een slokop. Ik heb genoeg beleefd voor vijf, zes mensen­levens.”

“Ongeluk overkomt je, maar of je van dat ongeluk ook diep ongelukkig wordt:
dat heb je voor een groot stuk zelf in de hand.”

Ik heb tijdens mijn ziekte zelftherapie toegepast wanneer ik me slecht voelde.
NLP heet de techniek en het staat voor neurolinguïstisch programmeren.
Het uitgangspunt is dat een mens in staat moet zijn om het leven prettig te vinden,
om van het leven te genieten.
Daarvoor moet je jezelf van bepaalde emoties kunnen ontdoen.
Tegen jezelf zeggen: dáár ga ik nu eens niet over piekeren.
Natuurlijk, je kan dat duizend keer herhalen
en juist daardoor alleen maar harder gaan tobben.
Met NLP heb je oefeningen om er wél in te slagen die - gedachten uit te schakelen.

Het klinkt banaal,
maar als je twee weken lang elke dag drie positieve dingen opschrijft
die je hebt meegemaakt, zal je na verloop van tijd het effect zien.
Dat kunnen kleine dingen zijn: een sms’je van een oude vriend,
de regen die pas begon te vallen toen je net thuis was van een wandeling,
Elke dag beleef je makkelijk drie zulke fijne ervaringen.
En dan programmeer je je hersenen om op het positieve te focussen.
Het maakt een gigantisch verschil voor je welzijn.

“Kanker leert je stilstaan.
Het ene moment voel je je oké,
het volgende moment lig je compleet uitgeteld en futloos ziek te wezen.

Ineens besef je dat je een versnelling lager moet schakelen,
gewoon omdat je niet anders kan.
En dan stel je vast dat het uitzicht halverwege de berg ook mooi is.
Je móét niet altijd helemaal tot boven. Niet evident, hoor. Het is hard.

Prioriteiten stellen. Dure kleren, chique hotels of restaurants,
een grote show op tv … Wat maakt het allemaal uit?
En je leert mensen kennen, in de positieve én negatieve zin.
Er zijn er van wie je merkt:
oei, die vinden oppervlakkigheid leuker en belangrijker.
En daar is ook niks mis mee, ik neem niemand iets kwalijk.
Ik wás op dat moment ook even niet zo leuk en gezellig, hé.
Bovendien: niet iedereen is geschikt om zorgtaken op te nemen,
om iemand echt bij te staan op moeilijke momenten.
Dat is ieders goed recht.
Maar je leert wel welke vrienden altijd blijven bellen,
ook al ben je niet de grote vrolijkheid.
Ja, de gradatie van wie belangrijk is in mijn leven,
is toch behoorlijk door elkaar geschud.
En dan kwam er ook nog eens een einde aan mijn relatie,
wat uiteindelijk ook een goede zaak was.
Als je er op zo’n moment niet kan zijn voor elkaar, moet je ermee kappen.

“Ongeluk overkomt je, maar jij kiest of je ongelukkig wordt.” 

 https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20210806_96282191