The rich industrialist from the North was
horrified to find a Southern fisherman lying
lazily beside his boat, smoking a pipe.
"Why aren't you out fishing ?" said the
industrialist.
"Because I have caught enough fish for the day,"said
the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch some more?"
What would I would with it?"
"You could earn more money' was the reply. "With that you could have a motor fixed to on
your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you would make enough to buy
more nets. These would bring you more fish and more money. Soon you would have enough money to
own two boats ...maybe even a fleet of boats.Then you would be a rich man like me."
"What would I do then?"
"Then you could really enjoy life."
"What do you think I am doing right now?"
- The Song of The Bird, Anthony DeMello SJ
"The Purpose of life is not to be happy.It is to be useful , to be honorable , to
be compassionate , to have it make some difference that you have lived
and lived well."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Inspiration :
Labor Day articles indicate a current rise in unhappiness , stress and dissatisfaction with
life amongst the global population. There are lengthy analyses about the correlation
between work dissatisfaction and one's level of stress. What seems to complicate these
issues is how stress has become a primary indicator of various diseases ; including
cardiovascular disease and the longevity of ones life ( the more stress, the more likely
one is likely to develop physical anomalies and possibly end one's life earlier than
necessary) Though some statistics indicate some improvement, the overall trend
does not bode well for many. Consequently medical research has indicated
that the day and time of the week that has the highest percentage of heart attacks
in many working men is....Monday mornings ( just before heading off to work.)
https://news.gallup.com/poll/507725/global-rise-unhappiness-stalls.aspx
The Writing:
Santosha and The Magnificence
How many morning meditations on the ocean bathed beach
does a pilgrim need to nurture that nirvana
that seems to wave gently just off the shoreline
from that peace-filled pod of dolphins?
Is there anything that a pilgrim really needs
that constantly burns the flame of their desires?
"Satis" the choir sang in some ancient Latin chant.
"Sometimes you just get what you need" hymned
the consort's voices .
The contemplative Yogi suggests
genes of sentient beings are transcendental
pieces that of their ancestors , now
flourishing in the children of their children.
Asking his novitiates, "Is it not possible that the same is true concerning
the ever mysterious spark of that cosmic creator of the universe ;
the creator in all creation ? "
Seeds of love, seeds of peace, seeds of compassion and generosity-
living in every aspect ...coming and going...being ... sacred
proof of the access to the magnificence of santosha all-ways .
- JF Sobecki
-------------
The Poems and Such:
"Poetry is a gateway into intuitive consciousness. It knocks on the doors
of the heart and the heart opens"
- Mirabai Starr
"Poetry is an Act of Peace . Peace goes into the making of a poet
as flour goes into the making of bread."
- Pablo Neruda
" To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower.'
- Wm. Blake
Fluent
I would like to live
Like the river flows
Carried by the surprise
Of it's own unfolding.
- John O'Donohue
I am Going to Start Living Like a Mystic
Today I am pulling on a green wool sweater
and walking across the park in a dark dusty snowfall.
The trees stand like twenty-seven prophets in a field,
each station is a pilgrimage--silent pondering.
Blue flakes of light falling across their bodies
are the ciphers of a secret , an occultation.
I will examine their leaves as pages in a text
and consider the bookish pigeons, students of winter.
I will kneel on the track of a vanquished squirrel
and stare into a blank pond for the forge of Sophia.
I shall begin scouring the sky for signs
as if my whole future were constellated upon it.
I will walk home alone with the deep alone,
a disciple of shadows , in praise of the mysteries.
- Edward Hirsch
_________________
The Music:
