Gracefulness

Like a graceful vase, a cat, even when motionless, seems to flow.

~ George Will

Photo: "Jack of Hearts II" by Cat Mapper (Max Ogden), licensed under CC0 1.0

Centralization limitations

• 1 head vs 7 billion heads
• framework vs freedom
• one-size-fits-all vs individualized needs
• tried and proven vs trial and error => few new solutions

Appreciating old age

Many people are blessed with being young. But not all of them will be blessed with being old.

Being someone's number one

As years go by, and people grow networks of closeness around them, it becomes more and more important to have those with you for whom you will be number one priority, no matter what happens.

Cats and fish

If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape,
then a cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air.

~ Doris Lessing

Photo from Unsplash by Stainless Images

Gazing into the eyes of another living being

Magic of the winter night

The earth is wrapped in fallen snow, with silence all around.
It's not the snowflakes but my dreams keep falling on the ground.

Photos source

Zhang Daoling riding a tiger

Source

Freedom of happiness

My happiness won't be the same as other people's happiness. 

I let myself be happy my way and others be happy their way.

Regulating food

Food is not entertainment. Food is a pressing need. When it isn't, there's no need to eat.

Kulning - Ancient Swedish herdingcall

The echoing hallway

Foggy mind is like an echoing hallway: past events and past thoughts keep echoing in it again and again, sometimes reinforced by new events and new thoughts.

Clear mind is like an open field: events and thoughts happen once and then disappear like a sound in the vastness of the air, without any trace.

You and the other

It's easy to have good ideas when you're alone.

But then the other arrives, and suddenly everything you thought was good, and correct, and proper gets challenged.

And with that, it can only become better - if you allow it to.

To make a mistake

To make a mistake, to be wrong means to get closer to the truth as well.

Courage

It's easy to fight without being afraid. It's also easy to be afraid and avoid fighting. But to be afraid and still fight - that's what takes real courage.

~ Adapted from The Four Just Men (a 1950s TV show)

Decluttering

Both physical and psychological decluttering consists of 2 blocks:

• Getting rid of the stuff I've accumulated so far

• Changing the routines to prevent accumulating it again

A long road

Life is like a long road. It seems endless, but at some point of the way we all encounter signs that say '5 km to the precipice'. At those times we begin to appreciate the remaining way like never before.

Imbolc Offering

Out of coldness is born the warmth
Out of emptiness is born the abundance
Out of night is born a day
Out of darkness is born the light

Let there be warmth in our hearts
Let there be abundance in our homes
Let the days be longer and longer
Let the light be brighter and brighter

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