A Good Day's Work

“The Master gives himself up
To whatever the moment brings.
…
He holds nothing back from life;
Therefore he is ready for death,
As a man is ready for sleep
After a good day’s work.”

--excerpt, Tao Te Ching 50, Mitchell translation


Do you fear death? Will you have any regrets at the end? Do you spend too much time at work, too much energy worrying about money, too much attention on what others have that you do not? Or do you live for today, milking each moment, tasting the stars, smelling the laughter, relishing the contrast?




I'm not perfect. I worry about money, I wonder how my kids will be affected by their father's absence, I cry about hurts. But more of my time and energy go to enjoying my kids, basking on my Tempurpedic bed, vibrating in pleasure with a cat's purr, savoring a gluten-free lemon wafer cookie on my tongue, feeling the joy from pleasures I know will arrive. I want even more of this.

How about you?

Step Back

"Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity."

--Tao Te Ching 9, Mitchell translation



I'm selling my house and have my heart set on another, which is in such a position as to be easily snatched out from under me. I've put my intention to attract that house out there into the universe, and now am striving to let go. I'm not fixating on it, worrying about it, or stressing about it. Before I can buy another, or even make an offer on the one I want now, I need to have an offer on my house. I've been packing and cleaning and arranging and "staging" my home to sell, and while there is always more cleaning to do, I can let everything else go. The right people for this house will come, just as the right house will wait for me. I cannot make any of it happen sooner by fretting about it, or complaining about the passing time, or worrying that the best scenario may not play out. I know all will happen just as it should, regardless of whether it's in line with my own dream. I'm just going to do my work, and step back.






"Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner."

This is pretty self-explanatory, but I just felt compelled to emphasize it. Perhaps someone out there is meant to reflect on it.

Namaste, everyone. Thanks for reading!

When Life Begins

Wabi Sabi

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There's a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.”
-- Leonard Cohen

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in natural, imperfect simplicity. Wabi-sabi is quiet and modest, a humble beauty waiting to be discovered and appreciated. Wabi-sabi is in thrift stores, not Walmart; aged wood floors, not brand new carpet; wrinkles and blemishes and imperfect teeth, not the American airbrushed media model. Wabi-sabi is evident in the lines on your face that show all the times you have laughed, the stretch marks on your belly from the babies you have carried within, the age spots on your hands that show the years you have spent gaining wisdom. It is the misshapen ceramic pot your six-year-old made, the off-key songs you sang as a child, the marks outside the lines of a coloring page. It’s the cracks in adobe, the rust on metal, the frays on your grandmother’s quilt. It’s the patina of perfect imperfection born from age and wear, in art, in nature, in ourselves. Wabi-sabi is all that is modest, humble, and lovely.



Awesome kids’ book for all ages


What if you could learn to be content with your body, your life, your self exactly as they are today? What if you could see the perfection in all your perceived flaws? How would your outlook change?

Standing on Tiptoe

"He who stands on tiptoe
doesn't stand firm.
He who rushes ahead
doesn't go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.

If you want to accord with the Tao,
just do your job, then let go."

--Tao Te Ching 24, Mitchell translation