If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
~ Dalai Lama

It was with surprise, but then a cosmic chuckle, that I awoke to this beautiful cloud filled morning. Now, whenever there are clouds, I think “Oh Goodie!”, a chance for something spectacular! Today being no exception 🙂

As my writing stems from each day’s meditation, streaming from the moment of the now, I cautioned myself not to be too tied up in ‘pre-writing’ today’s post. There are Four Heavenly Abodes, and I want to talk about the remaining two. So as I thought yesterday of Metta, Mudita, and my mind turned to Karuna or Compassion, I paused to reflect on what would give rise to this state of awareness … read more

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!”
~ Bob Marley

It’s a beautiful morning here in St. Thomas. Do you see the heart in the clouds? I sure did !! My metta was beaming strongly today, and I felt as though the universe was sending it right back to me, and to you.

My villa guests were up early as well, enjoying the sunrise also from the upper deck, above where I sit. We’ve been blessed with guests for the past 4 weeks straight, so I’ve grown accustom to the brief human interruptions to mother nature’s own rhythm. I mentioned a few weeks back that I was caught briefly by a form of greediness, when someone first joined me above. Mindfulness catches it. Metta practice helps to break through the negative emotion. As does letting go. Metta will be there for me again, when I’m back out of routine and caught off-guard. read more

“You can never change the past nor control the future, but you can change the mood of the day by touching someone’s heart with your smile.”
~ Unknown

It was hard to keep from smiling as the big bold yellow sun rose this morning, and why would I not smile 🙂

I envisioned even putting a smiley face on the photo, but I figure you’d catch my drift ….

I’ve mentioned it before. Some days happiness comes naturally, and some days it takes a bit of effort. Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design into the present. read more

“Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience.
Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.”
~ Hal Borland, author of ‘The Memoirist’

The cool breezes of Virgil have subsided somewhat, as the 30+ mph winds have shifted from North to South. My sitting for the sunrise – pretty, yet uneventful – was marked with periods of jumpiness, then calm, as I worked to steady my mind’s angst.

Last night, our neighbor texted Spencer, as someone had rammed the electronic gate leading into our community, and broke it. The short cryptic message implied that our villa guests were to blame. Our neighbor simply sent a photo of their jeep, asking “Is this your guests?”. It turns out our security cameras aren’t good enough to catch license plate numbers, but only generalities, and the culprit was a silver jeep. We opted not to disturb our guests with the insinuations, but to wait for more information. A quick inspection revealed there wasn’t any evidence on their front bumper. Spencer informed me as I sat this morning that the culprit did not have a cover on their back tire. Villa guests off the hook. read more

“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
~ Abraham Lincoln

Even the sunrise this morning seemed to be in on April Fools Day. There was one huge cloud on the horizon, which might fool one into thinking it’s overcast here today. Actually, the rest of the sky is pretty clear, and tells me it’s going to be a sunny day for those of you who are enjoying Easter Monday holiday, and for Spencer who is out on a full day charter with an old high school friend. read more

“Time always seems long to the child who is waiting – for Christmas, for next summer, for becoming a grownup: long also when he surrenders his whole soul to each moment of a happy day. ”
~ Dag Hammarskjold

It was with patience that I sat for this photograph today. My coffee grew cold, and even my cat gave up trying to tell me it was time for breakfast.

My heart told me that the divine would not let me down. Light would break through the thick clouds. More would be shown to me, if I had the patience, only but to wait. read more

“The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
~ Helen Keller

The tail end of ‘winter storm Virgil’ is upon us this morning, with brisk breezes and churned up seas. St. John looks to have gotten some much needed rain yesterday, although we got barely a dribble here on Peterborg. I hope it clears up for all of my friends who are out boating or beaching it this holiday weekend !! read more