December 12, 2021

Celebration and Release -- Acceptance and Letting Go

12 minutes

Written and Narrated by Marie T. Russell.

If we strictly listen to the media and news channels, we would think there is never any reason to celebrate life. From those sources, we hear about murders, corruption, and all kinds of frightening and hurtful events. Where in those stories is there anything to celebrate?

Celebration

When we look at life and its multitude of small (and big) miracles, we realize there is a lot to celebrate. And, what we focus on expands... in other words, if we keep looking at the cliff wall, all we will see is the cliff wall. On the other hand, if we look at the flowers and beauty of nature, we see the beauty that is often hidden in plain sight.

This reminds me of a Buddhist parable about a monk who is faced by a fierce tiger. The monk backs away, knowing that just behind him is a cliff and just below that cliff is the sea. He chooses to lower himself over the cliff on a thick vine. As he does, he is filled with gratitude that the vine can hold him.

After his prayer, the monk looks over and sees, growing through the rock on the cliff, a vine with one bright, red strawberry. He looks up to see the tiger snarling at him and looks down to see the waves leaping and lurching below him. And then the monk plucks the strawberry from its vine and puts it into his mouth, savoring the sweetness. He chose to focus on the good that was present in that moment, rather than on the possibility of "bad" that was in the future.

Let's shift our focus to what we have to celebrate. This does not mean we ignore...

Continue Reading at InnerSelf.com (plus audio/mp3 version of article)

Music By Caffeine Creek Band, Pixabay

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