“When you go out into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree. The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying, ‘You’re too this, or I’m too this.’ That judging mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”
~ Ram Dass
How about spending next week turning trees into people?
A co-worker brought in an old movie from home that she’d thought I’d enjoy. For two weeks, it sat on my coffee table. While interested, it just wasn’t a priority for me. And as more days passed, I began to feel a sense of urgency to watch it – to ...
Dr. Jack Kevorkian was released earlier this month, having spent eight years in jail at a cost in excess of four hundred thousand dollars for helping people who wanted to die to be able to do so with surety and dignity. I wonder if the agreement that was reached before ...
My brother and I attended a Chicago Cubs baseball game a few weeks ago and part of the fun was watching the interaction between the players in the outfield and the fans sitting in the bleachers. Sometimes after the inning warm up, the left-fielder would throw a ball into the ...
We transported my daughter's horse 1600 miles. When we walked into the boarding stable, relaxing music was playing as well as messages on the tack board, stall assignment, feed schedule that spoke to sharing and being loving kindness. Does it take a reminder to be aware of the grace and ...
As a society, we consistently speak as if we can teach, motivate, inspire, educate and empower other people. I wonder what it will take for us to understand that we can do none of these things? ...
