Jadeite Cabbage and Meat Stone

The Jadeite Cabbage

Insects - closeup

The Meat Stone

Information: 
Jadeite Cabbage in Wikipedia
Meat Stone in German Wikipedia

The deepest pit of the year

Today is 23 December - the deepest pit of the year. I'm remembering the stop it makes in the lowest point before swinging back in motion tomorrow. It's the day of death before rebirth.

Yule Offering

Father Sun, may you be strong
Father Sun, may you be bright
Father Sun, may you burn
Father Sun, may you shine

Father Sun, keep me strong
Father Sun, keep me bright
Father Sun, keep me burning
Father Sun, keep me shining

The Joy of Rain

The joy of rain as I'm walking down the cold street, with freezing droplets occasionally stinging my face, even though I'm carrying an umbrella. 

The joy of watching the myriads of neon lights reflecting in the myriads of puddles created in every tiniest hollow in the ground.

But above all, the joy of the monotonous sounds of the raindrops beating gently against everything in their way, the steady whisper accompanying just another normal evening in the life of the city.

On my way, there will be only one stop to make - the supermarket: I need to buy a few bags of strong tea. This is going to be a long evening at work.

Mindful listening

When listening to music, follow every sound as if you hear the piece for the first time.

Not a problem

Aging is not a problem. It's a pretext to wear more expensive things.

~ From a makeover TV show

The sweetness of the world

The sensation of the world comes to me as sweetness, the sweetness of observing the world as it is. 

A labelled picture

The real world: 

How we see it:

Samhain Offering

Beloved ancestors, help and guide us

Beloved guides in the spirit, help and guide us

Beloved spirits of the nature, help and guide us

Beloved Earth, help and guide us

Beloved Sun, help and guide us

Beloved Universe, help and guide us

May this time be a revelation 

And a safe journey to all,

On this and the other side

Photo: Unsplash

The Spirit of Quest

1. Accept that anything is possible.
2. Set my eyes on the ultimate goal.
3. Start moving.

Never again

I let go of the things that are never again,
Will I use them or need them? No, never again.
On my way to my self don't need anything extra,
So I'll never go back to them, never again.

There are nights...

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.

~ George Carlin

Photo: Unsplash

Super Moon 2015

Source and credits

Karma

Karma is like getting a higher education: what I'm doing now will influence my life quality in the future. And if I haven't passed a test or an exam, I'll have to retake them until I do.

The 'almost' trap

Almost's never work. The closer the almost is to the perfect, the more frustrating it can get, because the almost never crosses the line to become the perfect.

Every time I find myself thinking it's just a little change away from what I'm looking for, it's time to pause and wake up.

Closer to myself

I keep moving in the direction of my true self, drawing in 'my' people and 'my' things into my world. Life's too short to be wasted on remaking what can't be remade and changing those who can't be changed. Instead, I choose to choose something or someone different.

Every change I make either brings me closer to myself or takes me farther from myself. The trick is to see which change is which, and then stick to the former.

There Was Once a Dog (Sirko)

The best of the worlds

The best of the worlds is where I am.

But, of course, this applies to anyone. :)

Presence is enough

Guilt is a by-product of authoritarian upbringing, and a rather useless one too. 

Presence in the here and now is enough.

Belonging

We are of the same blood, you and I.

~ Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling

This feeling keeps me rooted in this world through good and bad times alike. The whole Universe is of the same blood as me, and wherever I am, whatever happens to me, it doesn't change the fact that I belong.

Photos: Unsplash

Blue Moon - 31 July 2015

Expectations

My expectations are a source of disappointment, and they make it difficult to accept everything and be truly open-minded.

I guess the path to true acceptance of the things or people I can't accept right now is blocked by my expectations. Remove them, and the road is clear.

Minding your own business

- Hey, Nasruddin, look, they're leading a sheep!
- Well, what's that got to do with me?
- But they're taking it to your house!
- Well, what's that got to do with you?

One moment at a time

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Just take it one moment at a time.

Letting go

Sometimes the way I act reminds me of a child who accidentally grabbed the hot end of a fire poker. The child is crying but he won't let go, and the longer he is holding it, the more painful it becomes.

This would be the simplest of life lessons: if it hurts, let go.

Then why is it so hard to do?

Altai Kai - Kai Kozhong

Good student, bad student

A good student learns even from a bad teacher.

A bad student doesn't learn even from a good teacher.

Pain and growth

Pain shows a spot of growth. What hurts has the potential to teach me something invaluable.

Being unhappy

If a problem can be solved,
Why be unhappy?

If a problem cannot be solved,
What is the use of being unhappy?

~ A Tibetan monk (?)

Diversity

When everyone is the same, someone will always differ. There's no thing to fit everyone.

Mass production

Mass production requires and generates uniformity in the world that, by its nature, is not uniform. How uniform can we get before we lose the world?

Pinterest: How to prevent your Blogger images from being pinned

Pinterest: How to prevent your Blogger images from being pinned

Four types of people

We meet four types of people in life, 
And we must know how to deal with them: 

Those who know and know that they know - they are the wise - follow them. 
Those who know but don't know that they know- they are misguided - enlighten them. 
Those who don't know and know they don't know- they are the students - guide them. 
Those who don't know and don't know they don't know - they are fools - avoid them.

~ An Arabian proverb

Teaching

Central Asian monk teaching East Asian monk. 9th century fresco from the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves near Turfan, Xinjiang, China.