Daily message
Goodevening!
from the book by THICH NHAT HANH...
""Many of us suffer because our communication with other people is difficult. At work, for example, we often feel we have tried everything and there is no way to reach our colleagues. This is often true in families as well. We feel our parents, our siblings, or our children are too stuck in their ways. We think no real communication is possible. Yet there are many ways to reconcile and to create openings for more compassionate communication.
Communicating when you're angry
One reason we have trouble communicating with others is that we often try to communicate when we are angry. WE suffer, and we don't want to be alone with all that suffering. WE believe that we are angry because of something others did, and we want them to know it. Anger has urgency to it. We want to let others know right away what the problem with them is.
But, when we're angry, we aren't lucid. Acting while angry can lead to a lot of suffering and can escalate the situation. That doesn't mean we should suppress our anger. We shouldn't pretend everything is fine when it isn't. It's possible to feel and engage with our anger in a healthy and compassionate manner. When anger is there, we should handle it with tenderness because our anger is us. We shouldn't do violence to our anger. Doing violence to our anger is doing violence to ourselves.
Mindful breathing helps us recognize our anger and treat it tenderly. Mindful energy embraces the energy of anger. Anger is a strong energy, and we may need to sit with it for a while. When you cook potatoes, you have to maintain the fire underneath for at least fifteen or twenty minutes. The same is true of the practice of mindfulness when it embraces anger. It will take a while, because the anger takes a while to cook.
from a book by Bishop Percival Fernandez...
THe old Chinaman Fable
A very old Chinaman was busy in his orchard when the ruler of that district happened to pass by.""You are very old, surely,"" said the ruler. ""I have lived nearly a hundred years, sire,"" replied the old man.""Indeed?"" The ruler was impressed.""But, good man, do you hope to live long enough to gather the fruit from these saplings you are planting now? And if not, why make such an effort and get a backache at this age?""
""It is as you say,"" the Chinaman replied,""but, sire, when I came into this world I found many good things awaiting me. I would like to think that when I pass on there will be good things waiting for others!"" If only more and more of us realised the truth that this simple Chinaman conveyed to his ruler!
Today one of our family friend Soundar from Singapore visited with few kids and it rejuvenated the energy of even my elderly parents.
have a good weekend!
Image courtesy: Sergei Gussev
from the book by THICH NHAT HANH...
""Many of us suffer because our communication with other people is difficult. At work, for example, we often feel we have tried everything and there is no way to reach our colleagues. This is often true in families as well. We feel our parents, our siblings, or our children are too stuck in their ways. We think no real communication is possible. Yet there are many ways to reconcile and to create openings for more compassionate communication.
Communicating when you're angry
One reason we have trouble communicating with others is that we often try to communicate when we are angry. WE suffer, and we don't want to be alone with all that suffering. WE believe that we are angry because of something others did, and we want them to know it. Anger has urgency to it. We want to let others know right away what the problem with them is.
But, when we're angry, we aren't lucid. Acting while angry can lead to a lot of suffering and can escalate the situation. That doesn't mean we should suppress our anger. We shouldn't pretend everything is fine when it isn't. It's possible to feel and engage with our anger in a healthy and compassionate manner. When anger is there, we should handle it with tenderness because our anger is us. We shouldn't do violence to our anger. Doing violence to our anger is doing violence to ourselves.
Mindful breathing helps us recognize our anger and treat it tenderly. Mindful energy embraces the energy of anger. Anger is a strong energy, and we may need to sit with it for a while. When you cook potatoes, you have to maintain the fire underneath for at least fifteen or twenty minutes. The same is true of the practice of mindfulness when it embraces anger. It will take a while, because the anger takes a while to cook.
from a book by Bishop Percival Fernandez...
THe old Chinaman Fable
A very old Chinaman was busy in his orchard when the ruler of that district happened to pass by.""You are very old, surely,"" said the ruler. ""I have lived nearly a hundred years, sire,"" replied the old man.""Indeed?"" The ruler was impressed.""But, good man, do you hope to live long enough to gather the fruit from these saplings you are planting now? And if not, why make such an effort and get a backache at this age?""
""It is as you say,"" the Chinaman replied,""but, sire, when I came into this world I found many good things awaiting me. I would like to think that when I pass on there will be good things waiting for others!"" If only more and more of us realised the truth that this simple Chinaman conveyed to his ruler!
Today one of our family friend Soundar from Singapore visited with few kids and it rejuvenated the energy of even my elderly parents.
have a good weekend!
Image courtesy: Sergei Gussev
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