I think it's the skill of living in the present that I have mastered in the last 25 years. It is the key to enjoying your life in full. Enjoying life doesn't mean being unreasonably excited all the time. On the contrary, as I became older I realized that the first step towards finding the joy of life was to accept reality openly and sincerely, accept everything as it is. Reality is not perfect. But it is important to face the truth. This attitude works wonders. By the way, speaking about joys, after sixty I fell in love with dancing."
Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile soil.
The first seed said, “I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth’s crust above me … I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring … I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals!” And so she grew… The second seed said, “Hmmmm. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don’t know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts … what if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe.” And so she waited…until a yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and promptly ate it. [1] The fear of danger is what keeps people from pursing an active, passionate life — thus, they are not truly living but just surviving. But to just survive is close to being dead, and what is the point of playing dead before you’ve actually died? You will die anyway, sooner or later, so choose to live fully and intensely, savoring every single moment, before it’s too late. Here's a quote: "Neuroeconomist Paul Zak has found that hearing a story --- a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end --- causes our brains to release cortisol and oxytocin. These chemicals trigger the uniquely human abilities to connect, empathize, and make meaning. Story is literally in our DNA."
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reflectionsThe Joy is in the Journey Archives
October 2018
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