My life is a series of unfoldings -- incidents and occasions, agreeable or distressing. Each day is full of them, hour by hour, and this makes it difficult for me to take a detached view of all that is happening. I'm too close.
If these occurrences were like so many pieces of merchandise -- groceries or dry goods -- I would see them clearly, good and bad. Looking at the incidents of my life this way, I might be astonished to discover that the good far outweigh the bad. And yet, I concentrate so heavily on my trials and burdens that I hardly give a thought to relishing the pleasant and satisfying things that happen each day.
This noticing is an acute awareness of our surroundings and what takes place in them. It can be cultivated, like watching a play or a film. Today's Reminder: If I learn to see everything with a fresh eye, I will find I have many reasons for contentment and gratitude. When I find myself bogged down with negative thoughts, I will deliberately turn away from them. Let me observe with new interest even the commonplace things that happen in each new day.
Hey Breakaway,
Just had to note that text is really founded in Buddhist philosophy. The first part about life unfolding is a reference to what Buddhist's call 'impermenence'.
'Like watching a play or film' maps to the Buddhist slogan: 'Regard all phenomena as dreams'. In othr words, you should be able to sit back and watch life unfold around you, just like you might sleep and watch a dream.
Finding happiness in commonplace things, detaching and staying in the present are staples of Buddhist training.
My thread, Carpe Diem #4 Orig Thread: Carpe Diem #1
