This video was on the Daily Art Muse. It's wonderful. It has the gentle voice of Brother David Steindl-Rast, Gary Malkin’s soft, sweet musical composition and of course, Louie Schwartzberg’s utterly beautiful film. Watch it all the way through. Then watch it again.
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Buddha
The first beneficiary of compassion is always oneself. When compassion, or warmheartedness, arises in us and our focus shifts away from our own narrow self-interest, it is as if we open an inner door. It reduces fear, boosts confidence and brings us inner strength. By reducing distrust, it opens us to others and brings us a sense of connection to others, and sense of purpose and meaning in life.
~Dali Lama
May all beings be peaceful and happy.
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It's my favorite day of the whole year!
All the shopping is done.
The decorations are up. These are laptop lights. They attach to a usb port and slowly change color. I got them at best buy. Aren't they fun?!
Provisions in the larder.
Just a few more things to wrap and a few cookies to bake so the house smells nice and we are ready to go! I'm going to soak every last minute of it up!
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While we were visiting family in North Carolina, we drove down to Columbia SC to visit the Zoo. Here's a picture of the people I love best... (left to right) Phil, Jimmy (my son), Hannah (granddaughter), Michael (grandson) and Tracy (my daughter-in-law - the daughter of my heart).
Hannah found the perfect place to perch.
What's better than this!
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I usually make New Years resolutions. I don't necessarily keep them, nor do I feel particularly badly when I don't but I do think it helps mark the beginning of something new and a chance to reinvigorate psyche to reach for joy in year ahead. The self improvement stuff, I mostly gave up years back. At this age, I've given up striving for the things that I know are unachievable, for me at least.
So I have been thinking for the last two days (one of them riding up from a visit to my kids in North Carolina - more about that later). I'd like to do more of the things that make me happy and less of the things that don't and I would really like to be able to tell the difference in advance. Doing more art would be an obvious joy choice for me but it has to be art for myself. I don't want to reinvent myself again along anyone else's lines but live authentically enjoying the moment regardless of it or my imperfections.
I want to leave "becoming" in favor of just plain being. Whatever improvements come along I'd like them to arrive gently and without striving.
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I have been trying to practice happiness. It’s a mixed bag. Sometimes it’s so easy and sometimes I think I’m crazy for even trying. But here a few little things that have made me smile.
The sun breaking through the trees in my back yard. 
A rusty bell from the wind chime by my back door.
A seed pod in the nature preserve.
Little things, little joys. Being in the now and noticing. Practicing happiness. A joyful mind...
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I was listening to a lecture by Pema Chödrön from her CD titled Don’t Bite the Hook where she talks about the Tibetan Buddhist teachings which ask us to “always maintain a joyful mind.” Right. Chödrön suggests that we practice happiness.
I so often forget that what my mind thinks is up to me. If I focus on the annoying things about the day – and some days it’s hard not to – I can whip those little annoyances into righteous wrath until I feel strangled by them. It’s amazing how badly I can feel treated when I dwell on it. Even the sunshine seems to be coming in the wrong window.
Good grief, what was I thinking? If I stop a moment, stop the incessant chatter of my mind, stand in the present moment another side starts to surface. There are so many really good things in my life. So many things little things that make me happy. If I can focus on them instead of brushing them aside I can “maintain a joyful mind.”
Yesterday, I walked in the nature preserve near our house at lunch time. It was the closest thing to spring we can get in January. The air was fresh and the sun was warm and everywhere there were little sights to delight the eye: a paw print in the snow, a red berry against dried leaves, a bird’s nest almost hidden in the thicket with its top hat of snow. What could be better than that? It’s easy to practice happiness there.
This batch of Clementine’s are exceptionally sweet, if I am practicing happiness when I eat one--the fresh citrus scent curls around my nose the minute I start to peel it. I can appreciate the perfect little sections, as I bite down I can feel the sweet juice dancing on my tongue. It’s perfect but if I am not present in the moment I will miss it.
Hot tea, dark chocolate, a friend’s voice on the phone, cats napping in sunny windows, “brown paper packages tied up with string…” we can all make our own list. These little joys surround us all the time. I just need to practice being aware of them.
So my resolution for 2008 – to practice happiness. What could be better?!
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