A shift in perception from indulgent victimhood to curious dissection of the source of my suffering has helped me over the last few weeks. Thank you for being a part of that.
Someone left two sentences of criticism under a piece I posted last month. One of them said I was hiding behind big ideas to avoid saying anything true about myself. I read it once, decided he was being unfair, closed the tab, and my thumb was already in another app before the sting had finished arriving. I have never once moved that fast with praise. Your entitlement line is where that lands for me: the peace I demand is with my opinion of myself. He was right, by the way. I checked, quietly, once I was sure he would never know that I had.
And yet you have allowed yourself to notice all this, and then even to talk about it. It is fascinating how the simple act of noticing can turn our failings into teachings.
Thank you, Simeon. Though I want to accept that a little too quickly. Noticing is also the part of this I am good at, which means it is the part I can be pleased about. The failing turns into a teaching, and the teaching has my name on it. There is a second sentence in that comment I still have not gone back to read.
Very true! The ego is brilliant in its hide-and-seek game. I love a quote that breaks the spell for a bit, it's by Francis Lucille: "It is only the ego that ever wants to get rid of the ego."
That one lands and keeps working. My first response was relief, a quiet “good, then I can stop trying,” and the relief was the ego settling in, not leaving the room. Even now I notice I’m a little pleased to have a good answer to your quote.
Superbly direct and richly resonant, Simeon. I love the gentle strength of this reminder that suffering is a full-time life-companion we are wise to befriend, even to welcome. Thanks for this quiet call to appreciative Awareness and its Key: active courage in "a deep, sustained, curious, and compassionate look ...'. Beautiful fuel for our trustful seeking to 'make it so' day by day.
Simple and beautiful
Thank you for reading, Jenny!
A shift in perception from indulgent victimhood to curious dissection of the source of my suffering has helped me over the last few weeks. Thank you for being a part of that.
I am happy for you, Andrea! May your practice bring you ever deepening peace and insight.
Someone left two sentences of criticism under a piece I posted last month. One of them said I was hiding behind big ideas to avoid saying anything true about myself. I read it once, decided he was being unfair, closed the tab, and my thumb was already in another app before the sting had finished arriving. I have never once moved that fast with praise. Your entitlement line is where that lands for me: the peace I demand is with my opinion of myself. He was right, by the way. I checked, quietly, once I was sure he would never know that I had.
And yet you have allowed yourself to notice all this, and then even to talk about it. It is fascinating how the simple act of noticing can turn our failings into teachings.
Thank you, Simeon. Though I want to accept that a little too quickly. Noticing is also the part of this I am good at, which means it is the part I can be pleased about. The failing turns into a teaching, and the teaching has my name on it. There is a second sentence in that comment I still have not gone back to read.
Very true! The ego is brilliant in its hide-and-seek game. I love a quote that breaks the spell for a bit, it's by Francis Lucille: "It is only the ego that ever wants to get rid of the ego."
That one lands and keeps working. My first response was relief, a quiet “good, then I can stop trying,” and the relief was the ego settling in, not leaving the room. Even now I notice I’m a little pleased to have a good answer to your quote.
Superbly direct and richly resonant, Simeon. I love the gentle strength of this reminder that suffering is a full-time life-companion we are wise to befriend, even to welcome. Thanks for this quiet call to appreciative Awareness and its Key: active courage in "a deep, sustained, curious, and compassionate look ...'. Beautiful fuel for our trustful seeking to 'make it so' day by day.
Thank you, Catharine. It's really a reminder I need all too often, and I thought it would be good to give it voice, even if only in a few sentences.