Eclipse in a Dish
Seeker
The Path of Small Achievements
I wrote yesterday about enjoying each small success with Tao of Thoreau: each book I sell, the pocket change I earn per edition.
I am developing a philosophy that goes with this: the path of small achievements.
About 5 years ago I decided to start going to poetry open mics. It was so much fun! I got to read my work and get applause, sometimes even hooting (my wife always counts the hoots).
Continue readingSunrise or sunset?
Who are you? Who am I?
Reflections in the water
Barriers to Beauty
I was walking Anna the dog to explore whether the bridge had been rebuilt in an area we like. When I saw that there was no bridge, I decided to explore along the stream to see if there was a way across, maybe some stones or logs.
There was nothing, but that’s not really what this post is about. I was looking at the stream with annoyance. I wanted to get across, and it was a barrier to my desires.
I stopped myself, realizing that my attitude didn’t really support my philosophy. A stream is a beautiful thing, and many times I’ve stopped by this water, gazed at it, enjoying the sight and sound. So I stopped myself, and Anna, and we looked down at the water, enjoying its burbling flow.
The lesson I’m trying to take away is that sometimes something enjoyable can be burdensome if we have the wrong attitude. I’m trying to make sure updating this website, working on my writing, isn’t an extra that seems like too much. Hopefully the lesson of this stream will help me in pursuing my ambitions.
Found Nature’s Binky
World Philosophy Day
For this day, I thought it would be nice to post one of my favorite passages from my book. The first part is a quote from Henry David Thoreau. The second is the connection I see to Taoism.
Thoreau
We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities.
We loiter in winter while it is already spring.
Tao
Earlier, Thoreau warned not to try to turn spring into summer; here he warns not to obsess on the past. Lao Tzu said:
Why was it that the ancients prized this Tao so much? Because it could be got by seeking for it, and the guilty could use it to escape the stain of guilt. This is the reason why all
under heaven consider it the most valuable thing.
Learn from mistakes and missed opportunities and apply this learning going forward. Practice forgiving yourself, especially if you have accepted the lessons from your mistakes. Forge forward with this learning, determined to make a new day and a new you.
If you like this, you may like to read more in my book Tao of Thoreau
Excerpt from Tao of Thoreau
PechaKucha
A new kind of storytelling for me. Telling a story with images projected in the background. Twenty seconds per image.
I’m a little nervous about it, which I love. I’ve learned that nerves are often an indication of my limits being pushed. Pushing my limits is what I want to continue to do in my life.
Mark Bozeman 