Saturday, January 05, 2013

Some people might persecute you for your personality.
In todays winds of change, through the eyes of much of the American youth, so many people are dismissed as "awkward". Every time I hear a person say, "whew, THAT was awkward!" after talking to someone they didn't know and was "different" to them, I wonder... Why was that awkward, asking that stranger where the bathroom is? The guy seemed introverted, and a bit shy, but answered helpfully. So what! He's not the hip, bubbly, overly outgoing, entertaining person you expect people to be? So what! He's him. You're you. He/She might be totally comfortable in their skin. And you might not be. Or vise versa.
The same goes for so many "different" personality types.
Sometimes I do something similar when it comes to judging myself..
You may know what people are expecting in common social situations, and know when they are let down from their own expectations. I have spent almost a lifetime researching the patterns and changes in social cultures.
In 2013, social influence supersedes most impressionable young people over anything else. What they say and do is micro-capsulated by what they see through the bubble they live in.
Which is why everything out of their perfect norm seems odd or awkward to them. They live in a bubble. A bubble of style. A bubble of television or radio. A bubble of music. A bubble of spirituality. A bubble of religion. A bubble of family. A bubble of solitude.  A bubble of work. A bubble of politics. A bubble of particulars.
In most cases of being stuck in your bubble, your conclusion of the outsider will always end up the same: they're not like you. They don't quite fit. They don't fit your expectations. They're not like everyone else you know.
The worst persecution someone can face may even come from within their own family.
Now THAT is awkward. Awkward because no one should feel this way in the presence of family.
If your own family has a hard time with your presence, social cultures may be interfering with perception and expectation. Within a family, this is never comfortable to respond to.
Whats missing here is the lack of the understanding of love.
You may love yourself enough, and you may love your family too, but if you don't see and feel welcoming love from your own family members because you are different in some ways, you may feel the opposite of that.


Friday, January 04, 2013

LIVING LIFE WITH A GOOD HEART

The Antidote to Selfishness

By Lama Thubten Yeshe

 


There is no way to get everlasting satisfaction unless you change your attitude from one of holding yourself to one where you open your heart and dedicate yourself to others. If you can do this, you are guaranteed of satisfaction and will never be lazy.
The selfish mind is incredible, worse than a knife in your heart. Selfishness kills you, destroys your life. All the political troubles in the world today come from the selfish attitude. It doesn't matter what the object of your selfishness is - your own reputation, your own nation, the planet's resources, money the selfish attitude is the main troublemaker. We kill each other because of the self-cherishing thought, holding ourselves dear and not worrying about the welfare of others. All bad relationships - between husband and wife, guru and disciple - come from the selfish attitude. When you think about it, you can see that every problem on earth comes from being concerned for oneself instead of others.
Selfishness is painful, really painful. If you want to be free of the pain in your heart, open it by developing universal concern for others, bringing all sentient beings into your heart as much as you possibly can. That is the antidote to the selfish attitude that is the pain in your heart. I truly believe that this is the way to liberation.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Oh dears.

Usually, little children say the most completely obvious yet randomly valuable and crushingly adorable things that fill me with joy in the most needed moments.



Tuesday, January 01, 2013

A Happy New Year.

 "Happy new year, Year!"
"Happy new year, Luke.
The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the seagulls are flying, it'll be a good year for you."