The Essence of Understanding
April 14, 2010
“When we are mindful, we notice that another person suffers. The other person may be a husband, a wife, or a child. If one person suffers, that person needs to talk to someone in order to get relief. We have to offer our presence, and we have to listen deeply to the other person who is suffering. That is the practice of love–deep listening. But if we are full of anger, irritation, and prejudices, we don’t have the capacity to listen deeply to the people we love. If people we love cannot communicate with us, then they will suffer more. Learning how to listen deeply is our responsibility. We are motivated by the desire to relieve suffering. That is why we listen. We need to listen with all our heart, without intention to judge, condemn, or criticize. And if we listen in that way for one hour, we are practicing true love. We don’t have to say anything; we just need to listen. “The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves “inside the skin” of the other. When we are in contact with another’s suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means literally “to suffer with.” –Thich Nhat Hanh
T
hank you Quma Learning & Dennis Deaton
Endless Possibility
February 6, 2010
Have you ever had a creative idea that fills you to overflowing? The idea surges through you like melted chocolate on a gigantic hot fudge Sunday. With it the voice of possibility…This is it! I am going to be the first, the successful, the famous, the only, the ONE! No sooner are you filled to the brim with possibilities than another voice starts to whisper…Who do you think you are? You will never make any money. What will your friends and family say when you fail?
Why is it that the whisper usually beats out all those possibilities? Most of us back off, kill the idea and go about business as usual.
But then, every once in a while, there is a creative idea that will not be whispered into oblivion. It insists on capturing a glimpse at the light of day. If it can just capture those first rays of light then maybe it will start to grow.
We are stepping over our fear, tuning out that incessant whisper and exploring a couple of endless possibilities. Amazing how alive you feel when creative ideas are nudged forward.
What creative idea do you have that is waiting for a little light?
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