I don't know, I guess because its Thursday

[Xue Sheng]

Just felt like posting these

The Path With The Heart

From Carlos Castaneda: "Don Juan's Teaching"

Don Juan said:

Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore you must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if you feel you should not follow it, you must not stay with it under any conditions.

To have such clarity you must lead a disciplined life. Only then will you know that any path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition.

I warn you. Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question. This question is one that only a very old man asks.

My benefactor told me about it once when I was young, and my blood was too vigorous for me to understand it. Now I do understand it. I will tell you that it is: Does this path have a heart?

All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long, long paths, but I am not anywhere. My benefactor's question has meaning now. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it does not, it is of no use.

Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart the other does not. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path.

A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it.

For me there is only the traveling on paths that have a heart, or on any path that may have heart. There I travel... and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length.

And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly.

Don Juan, a Yaqui Sorcerer

The clouds above us join and separate,
The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns.
Life is like that, so why not relax?
Who can stop us from celebrating?
-Lu Yu

 

[Sukerkin]

Many thanks for those words, Xue. Given the stressful week I've had, it was very beneficial to read and reflect on such a philosophical mirror of walking a life.

 

[Kingindian]

nice article for me

 

[Fiendlover]

nice article for me

yeah i agree. it made me think.

 

[Xue Sheng]

What is it about me and Thursdays:idunno:

To be nobody-but-yourself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.
--- E. E. Cummings

If you find yourself railing against the absurdities of a particular game field, or that a lot of your energy is likely to be consumed in protesting the game rules, you should probably choose another field
---Laurence G. Boldt

It’s life that matters, nothing but life—the process of discovering, the everlasting and perpetual process, not the discovery itself, at all.
—-- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The greater part of all mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims.
---Wolfgang von Goethe

 

[MA-Caver]

Holy crap! I remember those words from Don Juan. I recall reading it years ago. I'd dare say that it helped shaped my outlook on life at the time (and probably still does on a subconscious level). Wow, gonna have to find that book and read it again.
Lots of wisdom and insights by that sorcerer.
Thank you Xue for that wonderful reminder. Great selection of passages too.
:asian:

 

[kidswarrior]

Missed this the first time around. Excellent material. Thanks X-S. :asian:

 

[Xue Sheng]

Ok, so it’s not Thursday.

I like this saying and I actually did read it on Thursday night (so I am still wondering what the deal is with Thursdays). What I found more interesting is who said it

…many people stumble through life to the very edge of the abyss without knowing where they are going. At times, this happens because those whose vocation it is to give cultural expression to their thinking no longer look to the truth, preferring quick success to the toil of patient inquiry into what makes life worth living
--- Pope John Paul II

 

[kidswarrior]

Ok, so it’s not Thursday.

I like this saying and I actually did read it on Thursday night (so I am still wondering what the deal is with Thursdays). What I found more interesting is who said it

Yes, the vocation vs. success conundrum. Having 'settled' long ago with being *just a teacher*, I have long struggled with my decision--even when the tipping point came and went, and it was no longer even possible to change back to the success paradigm. Now I'm old and what's done is done. On good days, I realize how fortunate I was to have taken the vocation path. On bad days or weeks, I admit sometimes cynically thinking my tiny contribution might be totally pointless in the grand scheme.

For me, it's Fridays and Sundays, as maybe you noticed.

Great quotes, BTW. Hope you continue to add more. :asian:

 

[Xue Sheng]

The sage looks at the inevitable and decides it is not inevitable.
…The common man looks at what is not inevitable and decides that it is inevitable…
---Chuang Tzu

If we come from nothingness and will return to nothingness, I say let’s spend the time we have celebrating the very somethingness of life. Our time here is precious – literally irreplaceable. So live authentically. The catch there is that you have to figure out what living authentically means to you, but one thing it surely implies is engagement with – not withdrawal from – life itself. Use your free will to choose renewed appreciation of every moment rather then despair.
-- Lou Marinoff

OK I admit it the first one was from Wednesday.

 

[Xue Sheng]

OK I admit this is a Monday

“It is better to do one’s own duty, however defective it may be, than to follow the duty of another, however well one may perform it
---Bhagavad Gita

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

Thanks, Xue. This is quite an uplifting thread.

 

[kidswarrior]

OK I admit this is a Monday

Would I be doing my duty or yours if I told you it wasn't Monday but Tuesday? :rofl:

 

[Xue Sheng]

Would I be doing my duty or yours if I told you it wasn't Monday but Tuesday? :rofl:

:uhoh:

HEY!!!, It's the FIRST day I am back at work this week and it FEELS like a Monday... SHEEEESH :miffer:... GIVE A GUY A BREAK :uhyeah:

And if you don't buy that excuse I will fall back to.. HEY... I read it on Monday :uhyeah:

And if none of those work.... thanks for the correction.

EDIT

In my world... believe me.... its Monday no matter what the calender says :uhyeah:

 

[terryl965]

:uhohh:

HEY!!!, It's the FIRST day I am back at work this week and it FEELS like a Monday... SHEEEESH :ticked:... GIVE A GUY A BREAK :uhyeah:

And if you don't buy that excuse I will fall back to.. HEY... I read it on Monday :uhyeah:

And if none of those work.... thanks for the correction.

It is OK it is Monday to you and that is all that matters

 

[Xue Sheng]

Well since everyone is so certain it's Tuesday

You yourself must make the effort. The Buddhas can only point the way

 

[kidswarrior]

Well since everyone is so certain it's Tuesday

Hey, I was just joshin' with ya. But that's a great quote, too. They all are. :asian:

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.

Actually, Richard Bach; but, Donald's book said it.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Hey, it is actually Thursday... I think... I am sure KW will be by soon to let me know

When we do not expect anything we can be ourselves. That is our way, to live fully in each moment of time. This practice continues forever
-- Shunryu Suzuki

Failure is the key to success;
Each mistake teaches us something.
--Ueshiba Morihei

 

[kidswarrior]

Hey, it is actually Thursday... I think... I am sure KW will be by soon to let me know

You've been waiting all week to say that, haven't ya? :bangahead::bangahead::bangahead::bangahead: