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Check these out: |
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LINKS
YES! MAGAZINE. Perhaps the single most inspiring journal you could read, you will find us referring to Yes! Magazine frequently. It's banner says it all: A Journal of Positive Futures.
TAKE BACK YOUR TIME is a major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment. (October 24th Is Take Back Your Time Day.)
MORE LINKS . . .
BOOKS
Voluntary Simplicity, by Duane Elgin. This classic look at consumption and its effects on people's joy in living contains a large section of stories and testimonials by folks who have simplified their lives and the spiritual fulfillment that resulted.
Peace is Every Step, by Thich Nhat Hanh. Beloved Vietnamese Buddhist teacher takes us on the path of finding deep and lasting peace.
Hooked!: Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume, edited by Stephanie Kaza. These writings on consumerism from a Buddhist perspective, which says that one of the sources of suffering is desire, are a good way to look at the relationship between our planetary footprint and our personal fulfillment.
The Overspent American, by Juliet Schor. An analysis of overconsumption and why people are driven to spend more and more even though it is rarely satisfying: an "indictment of consumerism".
The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, by Sharon Salzburg. "We can travel a long way and do many different things, but our deepest happiness is not born from accumulating new experiences. It is born from letting go of what is unnecessary, and knowing ourselves to be always at home. True happiness may not be at all far away, but it requires a radical change of view as to where to find it." So begins one of America's leading spiritual teachers on the path to happiness.
The Impossible Will Take A Little While, edited by Paul Rogat Loeb. A compelling, insightful collection of essays that re described as "a citizen's guide to hope in a time of fear."
MORE BOOKS . . .
JOURNALS |
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Finding Fulfillment in our Lives
This is, of course, a very personal journey for each one of us.
Our web site is focussed on the well-being of our planet, and we think a great deal about what we can do to make a contribution to the betterment of our one planet home. So much so that sometimes we neglect to take care of ourselves. These words of Thomas Merton are particularly helpful when we try to be all things to all causes:
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To allow one's self to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns; to surrender to too many demands; to commit one's self to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. |
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For all of us who want to make a better world, it is sometimes the hardest thing to stay positive, to keep our spirits up when there is so much to despair about. Action is impossible without reckoning with the problems, without grieving for what has been lost and destroyed. And action is impossible without hope. Action is impossible if we give in to fear and despair. Adding our negative energy to the planet will not change it for the better. Keeping our spirits up in whatever personal way works for us is sometimes the most important thing we do in a day. As Terry Tempest Williams says, “Despair shows us the limit of our imagination. Imaginations shared create collaboration, collaboration creates community, and community inspires social change.”
Spending quiet time by one’s self, just being, and not doing is important for our sanity. It is also helpful to take each action one act at a time instead of rushing and thinking several steps ahead. The jobs don’t get done any quicker when we think of all the stuff we have to do. Eat the elephant one bite at a time! We need to treat ourselves with the same care and concern that we offer to others. Take time for reflection and studying things that satisfy a deep longing. It is easy to forget our self-care. Take time to smell the flowers, watch the clouds drift, and the rain fall. Notice the day. Catch the magic and the suynchronicities. Daydream. Breathe. It’s a short life and only we know how we should live it.
Connecting with ourselves, our loved ones, our community and our natural world sustains and encourages us. Friends, family, co-workers, associates and colleagues of all kinds weave the tapestry of our lives, and nourishing those connections is vital. This community extends beyond our human family to include our animal friends, the environment around us, all living things.
Creative work is essential. Play is essential. Following our hearts and dreams, wherever they may take us. This usually means taking risks, but as Barbara Streisand sings in her brilliant performance in Yentl, “Sometimes where danger lies, there the greatest of pleasures are found.”
What makes us happy and fulfilled? Bread, and Roses too. In this culture, it’s predominantly about Bread. We are told that getting and having stuff will bring us happiness. But most of us feel especially happy when we have offered something of ourselves to others, when we’ve been able to ease another person’s suffering, and when we are content with what we already have in our lives. When we are fulfilled, love, optimism, courage, a sense of freedom and purpose, pro-activity, security, health, spirituality, generosity, perspective, and humor pervade our lives. These are the Roses of our lives. We wish you endless bouquets of them. |
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