COMPLAINT OR GRATITUDE… IT IS UP TO OURSELVES
Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi musician and mystic writes: “There are 2 attitudes, which divide people into 2 sections.
The one is an ever-complaining attitude, and the other is an ever-smiling attitude. Life is the same; call it good, call it bad;
it is what it is, it cannot be otherwise.
A person complains in order to get the sympathy of others and
to show them his good points, sometimes in order to show himself as more just, more intelligent, and also in the right. He complains about everything, about his health, about those he loves and much more about those he hates. He complains from morning till evening. It can increase to such an extent that the weather is not good and the air is not good, and the atmosphere
is not good. He is against both earth and sky, and everything everybody does is wrong. Until it reaches the stage where man dislikes himself.
In this way he grows to be against others, against conditions,
and in the end against himself.
He is his own worst enemy.
Besides, magnetism is the need of every soul; the lack of it makes life burdensome. The tendency of seeing wrong in everything robs one to a great extent of that magnetism which is needed very much in life.
For the nature of life is such that naturally the multitude only accepts those who come to it with the power of magnetism, and casts out everyone else. But the way out is to look at the bright side of it.
The attitude of looking at everything with a smile is the sign of a saintly soul. A smile given to a friend, a smile given even to an enemy
will win him over in the end; for this is the key to the heart of man.
As the sunshine from without lights the whole world, so the sunshine from within, would illuminate the whole life, in spite of all seeming wrongs and in spite of all limitations.
One can begin to learn to smile by appreciating every little good thing that comes in one’s way through life. Be not troubled too much about unnecessary things in life, which gives nothing but displeasure
In this way, man develops gratefulness in his nature, and expresses it
in his thought, speech, and action, as an exquisite form of beauty”

JOKE

A great Zen master entered the hall where all the disciples had gathered for the evening meditation and said:
“there is good news tonight and bad news. First the bad news: there is no good news.
Now the good news: you dont have to listen to the bad news”

THE INNER BODY
Aaaah…Summer…. An avalanche of body sensations…. The sun on the skin (unless it is a mosquito),
the smell of a fresh breeze, a juicy peach flowing down the throat, the chattering of insects…. and more opportunities to move,
swim, run, and feel in harmony with nature

Eckhart Tolle tells us:
“Direct your attention into the body. Sense it from within. Is it alive? Is there life in your hands, arms, legs and feet- in your abdomen, your chest? Can you feel the subtle energy field that pervades the entire body and gives vibrant life to every organ and every cell? Can you feel it simultaneously in all parts of the body
as a single field of energy?
If you keep your attention in the body as much as possible, you will be anchored in the Now. You wont loose yourself in the external world, and you wont loose yourself in your mind.Thoughts and emotions, fears and desires may still be there to some extent, but they won’t take you over Please examine where your attention is at this moment….
Do not give all your attention away to the mind and the external world. By all means focus on what you are doing, but feel the inner body
at the same time whenever possible. Stay rooted within.
Then observe how this changes your state of consciousness and the quality of what you are doing… so when challenges come, as they always do, make it a habit to go within at once and focus as much as you can on the inner energy field of the body. Do it the moment the challenge presents itself. Any delay will allow a conditioned mental emotional reaction to arise and take you over. When you focus within and feel the inner body, you immediately become still and present as you are withdrawing consciousness from the mind .The response will come from this deeper level. And there is infinitely more intelligence
in Being than in your mind”
Then queuing up in the supermarket or being stuck in the traffic jam can even be enjoyable! Go more deeply in the Now, go more deeply in the body.

“My god” sighed Paddy, I had everything a man could want- the love of a gorgeous woman, a beautiful house, plenty of money, fine clothes”
“What happened?” asked Shamus
“What happened? Out of the blue without any hint of warning,
my wife walked in”