when your impulse is to be hard, generous when your
impulse is to be withholding, open when your impulse
is to close up or shut down emotionally. When there
is grief or sadness, try letting it be here. Allow
yourself to feel whatever you are feeling. Notice any
labels you attach to crying or feeling vulnerable. Let
go of the labels. Just feel what you are feeling, all the
while cultivating moment-to-moment awareness,
riding the waves of "up" and "down," "good" and
"bad," "weak" and "strong," until you see that they are
all inadequate to fully describe your experience. Be
with the experience itself. Trust in your deepest
strength of all: to be present, to be wakeful.
Voluntary Simplicity
The impulse frequently arises in me to squeeze
another this or another that into this moment. Just
this phone call, just stopping off here on my way
there. Never mind that it might be in the opposite
direction.
I've learned to identify this impulse and mistrust it. I
work hard at saying no to it. It would have me eat
breakfast with my eyes riveted to the cereal box,