Dear Perfect Beings,
Today was a pretty good day, and very busy. I worked out with my trainer, got a manicure, ate lunch out, and talked with someone about an advertising plan for my yoga studio, all before planning, preparing for and teaching a yoga class!
I opened my book of daily Buddhist readings today and read something really great to share. In the book Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana writes:
Be gentle with yourself. Be kind with yourself. You may not be perfect, but you are all you’ve got to work with. The process of becoming who you will be begins first with the total acceptance of who you are.
What is wrong with all of us that we think we have to be perfect, and because we aren’t perfect we have no worth? Where is our compassion for ourselves? We are perfect, even in our imperfections. And so is everyone else. We are so impatient, not only with ourselves, but with others. Everything is so fast in our world. Express gratification is around every corner. What do you think would happen if we just slowed down and let ourselves be happy, accepting what is, unconditionally? I can tell you what would happen; we would be happy! Happiness would come from within us, and not from what we perceive will make us happy once we get it. Also, we have to like ourselves to want something better for ourselves.
I was talking to someone the other day who was also from the Phoenix, Arizona area (where I used to live). I lived in Tempe and worked in downtown Phoenix. The bright points of my day were driving to and from work past the Japanese flower farms and their stands on Baseline Road. The flower farms have since been sold, all except one I was told several months ago (it might be sold now). In their place is now a golf course, condos and new housing developments. There were some old citrus trees, as well, where there had been citrus groves. I will never forget the days I had to follow a slow moving tractor, with my windows down, smelling all the beautiful flowers and seeing all the colors. Here is today’s haiku.
Rows of bright flowers
Sweet and fragrant, colorful
My own paradise
Go forth and find your paradise! (And love and accept yourself while you are searching.)
Cheers and blessings,
Jun-ri
P.S. Remember the Animals!
Today was a pretty good day, and very busy. I worked out with my trainer, got a manicure, ate lunch out, and talked with someone about an advertising plan for my yoga studio, all before planning, preparing for and teaching a yoga class!
I opened my book of daily Buddhist readings today and read something really great to share. In the book Mindfulness in Plain English, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana writes:
Be gentle with yourself. Be kind with yourself. You may not be perfect, but you are all you’ve got to work with. The process of becoming who you will be begins first with the total acceptance of who you are.
What is wrong with all of us that we think we have to be perfect, and because we aren’t perfect we have no worth? Where is our compassion for ourselves? We are perfect, even in our imperfections. And so is everyone else. We are so impatient, not only with ourselves, but with others. Everything is so fast in our world. Express gratification is around every corner. What do you think would happen if we just slowed down and let ourselves be happy, accepting what is, unconditionally? I can tell you what would happen; we would be happy! Happiness would come from within us, and not from what we perceive will make us happy once we get it. Also, we have to like ourselves to want something better for ourselves.
I was talking to someone the other day who was also from the Phoenix, Arizona area (where I used to live). I lived in Tempe and worked in downtown Phoenix. The bright points of my day were driving to and from work past the Japanese flower farms and their stands on Baseline Road. The flower farms have since been sold, all except one I was told several months ago (it might be sold now). In their place is now a golf course, condos and new housing developments. There were some old citrus trees, as well, where there had been citrus groves. I will never forget the days I had to follow a slow moving tractor, with my windows down, smelling all the beautiful flowers and seeing all the colors. Here is today’s haiku.
Rows of bright flowers
Sweet and fragrant, colorful
My own paradise
Go forth and find your paradise! (And love and accept yourself while you are searching.)
Cheers and blessings,
Jun-ri
P.S. Remember the Animals!
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