THE DAILY SPARK

POSTCARD FROM THE EDGE

Directly experiencing a particular place can only happen if you manage to be present without your usual filters.  Otherwise, you might only be in your concept or idea of a place, whether it be your home, your work place or for that matter, an exotic vacation destination.  That postcard from the edge may very well apply: “Having a great time.  Wish I were here.” But you are!  But your are!

Source:  ARRIVING AT  YOUR OWN DOOR  108 Lesson in Mindfulness by Jon Kabat Zinn

REFLECTION:

  • How present are you right now?
  • Is this moments postcard reading”Wish I were here?”
  • How can you be more present today?

A BROKEN STRING

“Sometimes it’s the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.”

Quote by Itzhak Perlman 

SOURCE OF THIS QUOTE:  One evening Irzhak Perlman was in concert and …

One person in the audience reported what happened: “I know it is impossible to play a violin concerto with only three strings. I know that and so do you, but that night, Isaac Perlman refused to know it. You could see him modulating, changing, and recomposing in his head. At one point it sounded as if he were re-tuning the strings to get a new sound that had never been heard before. When he finished, there was an awesome silence that filled the room. Then people rose and cheered. Perlman smiled, wiped his brow, and raised the bow of his violin to quiet them. He spoke, not boastfully, but quietly in a pensive tone, ‘You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.'”

REFLECTION:

  • According to this story’s legend,  at a concert one evening, Itzhak played his violin with just three strings and afterwards, quietly reflected “how much music can you make with what you have left?”
  • When you’ve had setbacks and unexpected things happened, how did you adjust?
  • Is there a situation you are currently dealing with that requires you to “still make music with what you have left?”

LOVE YOURSELF

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Washington D.C.

“You know, a lot of people don’t love themselves.  And they go through life with deep and haunting emotional conflicts.  So the length of life means that you must love yourself.  And you know what loving yourself also means?  It means that you’ve got to accept yourself.”

Quote by Martin Luther King,Jr.

REFLECTION:

  • Today, as we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. may these wise words settle deep within you.
  • Have  you accepted yourself as you are?
  • Do you love yourself?
  • How can you be more loving to yourself?