THROWN BACK

Stacks of paper...that's what I've been going through this past week (for the umpteenth time). The ongoing effort seems endless and is, but lost gems do resurface.

A Message from the Dalai Llama

(not dated)

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow three Rs: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. Make a loving atmosphere in your home the foundation for life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

I also know that dreams really do come true and you have my best wishes and my best efforts in those.

Regards 

~*~

I remember having strong reactions way back whenever this was first received and similar ones this time around; judgments on how far I fall short and how unlikely any more improvement might be considering my age, habits and general disposition. What I've learned from all my practices over the years however, is how to soften, how to consciously exercise that 'let go' muscle, how to forgive, how to go on as sincerely and truthfully as possible knowing change is inevitable.

(At my Zendo)

Where there's breath,
there's hope.