As I read today's' essay it occurred to me how often I am mindlessly chasing the horizon, that elusive "butterfly". When I am in pursuit, NOW vanishes; I miss the miracles occurring moment to moment. Reading this helped me remember: the blessing is in paying attention to the miracles that are occurring NOW.
Today it is cloudy, raining, gloomy. I often feel depression on these days. Water is a necessity of existence. Rain occurs and life thrives; a cycle that is so easily taken for granted. We humans tend to "chase the horizon" and tip the balance of nature in the process, ignoring the miracles in our quest to satisfy desires.
How many rainbows go unnoticed?
When did you last listen to your breath; or notice your heart beat?
How long has it been since you watched the sun rise or set?
When was the last time you saw the first star appear as darkness occurs?
When was the last time you stopped to help a turtle cross the road?
When was the last time you said "I love you"?
When was the last time you showed love in your actions?
In these precious simple moments joy is ours. It is why we are here, now.
Eknath Easwaran’s Thought for the Day, April 8-
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. – Eleanor Roosevelt
It is only immature people who believe, “I am separate; therefore, I can manipulate you, even exploit you, to ensure my own happiness.”
To think that we can pursue joy as a collector pursues butterflies, seeking it here and there, is folly. We can never go after joy because joy has got to come after us.
It’s like the horizon. When you look from the Berkeley hills, the horizon looks as if it is just beyond the Golden Gate. You honestly believe that if you go there, you will reach the horizon. But as you pursue it, it recedes farther and farther, and that is the nature of pleasure. It peeps out from the store, the restaurant, the bank, but when you enter there you will find it recedes farther and farther.
When we begin to seek a higher goal – for the welfare of our family and community – joy slowly tiptoes after us. We don’t have to say to joy, “Excuse me, will you please come to my house?”
Joy will come and put her suitcase down and say, “I am going to be here, whether you like it or not.”
That is how happiness comes.
The Thought for the Day is today's entry from Eknath Easwaran's Words to Live By.
(Copyright 1999 & 2005 by The Blue Mountain Center of Meditation.)
Select the Thought for the Day for any day of the year.
www.easwaran.org
