Feeling lighter - must be the sunshine
PORTLAND'S WATERFRONT BLUESFEST IS THIS WEEKEND! And they've got Zydeco all day Saturday. YES! I'm so happy I sparkle.
Work was very hectic today. End of month, end of quater, end of fiscal year for 1/3 of my clients. But waking up to the email from Chris with the little poems (below) set a wonderful tone for my morning, and I managed to remain in a good mood despite having one of the people I'm mentoring monopolize the first 90 minutes of my day.
Today's weather ended up being perfect. I spent my lunch hour walking around the Minthorn spring wetlands. The sky was blue, there was nary a cloud in the sky, and it was warm enough for me to take one of my shirts off. At the end of my walk was a block-long field filled with pink and white sweetpeas. I spent half an hour there, picking flowers and talking to Michael on the phone. When I went back int othe offfice I left sweetpeas on everyone's desk and gave a bouquet of them to Stephanie. Next to freesia, they are her favorites, because they remind her of her grandmother. I was going to go to the post office to mail that book for Stacie but I misplaced the paper with her address. Silly me.
Somehow I managed to get some work done this afternoon between all of the interruptions. On my afternoon break I went outside and cat-napped on one of the benches. Sun! Its been the wettest, most overcast June in my memory here in Portland. Which, I suppose, might have something to do with my moodiness.
When I got home I was so tired I just wanted to go to sleep. I decided to meditate instead. When I finished I felt this wonderful flow of energy. As my mind was clear, I did some contemplation of what happiness is to me, and what Buddha's eightfold path to enlightenment means to me.
The eight steps are:
1. Skillful Understanding - recognizing the roles of cause and effect, and truly understanding the Four Noble Truths as taught by the Buddha.
2. Skillful Thinking - Emphasis on understanding how our attachment to things is the source of our suffering (letting go), the practice of loving-kindness, and practicing compassion.
3. Skillful Speech - Special emphasis on truth-telling, gentle speach, and avoiding useless chatter.
4. Skillful Action - Particular attention to the Five Precepts, namely abstaining from killing, stealing, speaking falsely, sexual misconduct and misuse of intoxicants.
5. Skillful Livelihood - Understanding that how we make a living can have negative or positive impacts (skillful or unskillful) on our path to happiness.
6. Skillful Effort - Recognizing and dealing with the hindrances and fetters that keep us tied to our unhappiness.
7. Skillful Mindfulness - A study of mindfulness practice in terms of the body, feelings, the mind, and mental objects.
8. Skillful Concentration - Teaches what concentration means in the context of meditation, and how it is developed through the four stages to full Concentration.
Most people use Right instead of Skillful, but I chose to acknowledge that it requires conscious effort and acquired skills to do any of the above well enough to do it 'Right'. I'm still at the baby-steps phase. And perhaps I always will be. But I still get a tremendous satisfaction in knowing that I can follow this path to greater peace and happiness if only I have the self-discipline and insight.
Work was very hectic today. End of month, end of quater, end of fiscal year for 1/3 of my clients. But waking up to the email from Chris with the little poems (below) set a wonderful tone for my morning, and I managed to remain in a good mood despite having one of the people I'm mentoring monopolize the first 90 minutes of my day.
Today's weather ended up being perfect. I spent my lunch hour walking around the Minthorn spring wetlands. The sky was blue, there was nary a cloud in the sky, and it was warm enough for me to take one of my shirts off. At the end of my walk was a block-long field filled with pink and white sweetpeas. I spent half an hour there, picking flowers and talking to Michael on the phone. When I went back int othe offfice I left sweetpeas on everyone's desk and gave a bouquet of them to Stephanie. Next to freesia, they are her favorites, because they remind her of her grandmother. I was going to go to the post office to mail that book for Stacie but I misplaced the paper with her address. Silly me.
Somehow I managed to get some work done this afternoon between all of the interruptions. On my afternoon break I went outside and cat-napped on one of the benches. Sun! Its been the wettest, most overcast June in my memory here in Portland. Which, I suppose, might have something to do with my moodiness.
When I got home I was so tired I just wanted to go to sleep. I decided to meditate instead. When I finished I felt this wonderful flow of energy. As my mind was clear, I did some contemplation of what happiness is to me, and what Buddha's eightfold path to enlightenment means to me.
The eight steps are:
1. Skillful Understanding - recognizing the roles of cause and effect, and truly understanding the Four Noble Truths as taught by the Buddha.
2. Skillful Thinking - Emphasis on understanding how our attachment to things is the source of our suffering (letting go), the practice of loving-kindness, and practicing compassion.
3. Skillful Speech - Special emphasis on truth-telling, gentle speach, and avoiding useless chatter.
4. Skillful Action - Particular attention to the Five Precepts, namely abstaining from killing, stealing, speaking falsely, sexual misconduct and misuse of intoxicants.
5. Skillful Livelihood - Understanding that how we make a living can have negative or positive impacts (skillful or unskillful) on our path to happiness.
6. Skillful Effort - Recognizing and dealing with the hindrances and fetters that keep us tied to our unhappiness.
7. Skillful Mindfulness - A study of mindfulness practice in terms of the body, feelings, the mind, and mental objects.
8. Skillful Concentration - Teaches what concentration means in the context of meditation, and how it is developed through the four stages to full Concentration.
Most people use Right instead of Skillful, but I chose to acknowledge that it requires conscious effort and acquired skills to do any of the above well enough to do it 'Right'. I'm still at the baby-steps phase. And perhaps I always will be. But I still get a tremendous satisfaction in knowing that I can follow this path to greater peace and happiness if only I have the self-discipline and insight.
posted by KR | 6/30/2005 11:28:00 PM
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