Kids Back to School

Kid go back to school on this coming Monday.... Enjoyed spending the summer with them, but it will be good to have them back at school. They are really good kids. ( a testament to effective parenting) Time for me to go and scare up some freelance work, or maybe even a job....

Money is not the most important thing in the world. I always like to think that Money is like the air that you breathe. As long as you have enough to keep you alive, it is never an issue. If you start to run short of it, it can pose some very major problems.....Having an excess of money is not inherently a problem (similar to air). It is in the way you relate to money. Greed may be bad. Maybe not on second thought, as long as no one is getting hurt along the way. There is a universal precept that if you give with no expectaion of gain, then you will recieve back many fold...... This relates to religion in the way of tithing in christianity, and Karma in cetain eastern religions. In my life I have had many experiences where it seemed that when I needed money for some reason, the universe provided it in some way..... I do not mean some hokey materializing money. I mean, I landed a job I was bidding on, or was offered work, or got a refund check in the mail, or won gambling. In some way, the money that I needed came to me.


I think that part of our outlook on life depends on whether you view the world from the standpoint of Scarecity or Abundance. Those who live from abundance give feely because they know that there will always be more when they need it. I often see these kinds of people on that home makeover show on ABC. These are people who lose their homes, or suffer some great tragedy, but still give whatever they have to others. In their cases, they are suprised with a brand new beautiful home..... Those who live from Scarecity are hoarders. they fear that there is some finite amount of things, and they need to get their share before someone else does. Scrooge in a Chrismas Carol is the epitome of this person..... In the end though, he learns to live an abundant life, and in doing so relizes the true joy of living........

I think that one of the most powerful tools that we can cultivate in our lives is Appreciation.
Appreciation for the things that we have, and for the things that we do not have. appreciation for the trials in our life, and the people in our life.

I have heard Love been described as the ultimate form of appreciation projected upon a person or object......

I love the line in the Sheryl Crow song that says "It's not having what you want, It's wanting what you've got" That about says it all.

You need to appreciate who and where you are at this
moment in this existance.

More Is Not Enough

The Stone Cutter

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There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life.

One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through the open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stone cutter. He became very envious and wished that he could be like the merchant.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever imagined, but envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. Soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around. It was a hot summer day, so the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"

Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, feared and hated by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it - a huge, towering rock. "How powerful that rock is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a rock!"

Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard surface, and felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the rock?" he thought.

He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stone cutter.

Taken from the Zen Stories website





Namaste