Daily Life, Overcome Difficulties, photograph

Happiness – In the moment

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Contemplating lollipop trees
Contemplating lollipop trees

When I bumped into an article about happiness in the very excellent Brain Pickings site I immediately launched into Ken Dodd’s catchy song, Happiness. In 1964 this song made it to 31 in the Hit Parade. Interestingly a year later in 1965 his song Tears made it all the way to number one and stayed there for quite some weeks!
Here’s a couple of stanzas from Happiness for old times sake. And to reflect on too.

Happiness is a field of grain
Turning its face to the falling rain
I can see it in the sunshine, I breathe it in the air
Happiness happiness everywhere

A wise old man told me one time
Happiness is a frame of mind
When you go to measuring my success
Don’t count my money count my happiness
Ken Dodd – Happiness

One can only surmise that between singing Happiness and Tears a year later something happened in Ken Dodds life. He has certainly stood the test of time, he is still touring! Tears can be about grief and sorrow and the grief around regret. That would be regret about something in the past. An action, an attitude; words spoken, deeds not done or deeds unwise and harmful.

Harbouring regret is to live partly in the past, or quite a bit in the past for that matter. What is to be done to move on? That’s to travel one’s day in an immediate kind of way as talked about in this article The Science of How your Mind-Wandering Is Robbing You of Happiness.

I know of no other way than to return to the flow of what is here now, internally and externally. That’s to direct ones attention time and time, without the demand/expectation/requirement to be happy. ‘Tis fleeting after all!

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Daily Life, Overcome Difficulties

Benefit Others

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Hole in the wall...
Hole in the wall…

Instead of spending time
getting rid of of the clouds
go right to the Sky!

Whatever we do
it is extraordinarily important
to proceed with correct motivation:
the wish to break through
To Unconditioned Reality,

And,

Having gained access
To our innate
Wisdom and Compassion,
benefit others.

Attributed Rev. Master Daizui MacPhillamy
To the very end R.M.Daizui’s motivation was to benefit others.

It is a clear blue sky day, in every way. Clouds come and go to give the sky shape and texture.

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Information, Teachings

Daizui Remembered

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Rev. Master Daizui at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey
Rev. Master Daizui at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey

The Great Silence
enfolds the world.

Who could have guessed
Its tenderness?”
Daizui MacPhillamy

********************

He died in his own bed
Ten years to the day.

Shortly before
a snowflake
fell on his face.

He smiled,
he was home.

I miss him still, his council in particular. Today alone, driving south I spoke out loud. Telling him about this and that, asking into the thin clear air.

There is that which is not born, and does not die.

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Daily Life

Lambs in coats

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lambsThe news is full of facts about how cold it has been this March. The coldest March since 1962 I believe. That was the year the swans were frozen into our local river in East Sussex. Somebody must have cut them free since I can’t remember seeing them dead. Even so Easter weekend was sunny and had people out on the street enjoying the fun of special events in the area. The local heritage railway was steaming as is their custom with excited children bouncing up the platform to climb aboard. A train whistle still heralds a quickening with excitement. I passed up an offer of a footplate ride in favour of a hot cup of tea in the (stationary) buffet car, a decision hardly believable to true train enthusiasts.

Walking out in the fields during the weekend we came upon several dead lambs. So sad. It is customary to recite the scripture, Adoration of the Buddha’s Relics for dead creatures. Oh and sometimes give them a name too. Basically one does a shortened form of an animal funeral, a blessing.

Walking on, gangs of lively lambs rustled as they ran and jumped in their plastic coats, something I’d not seen before. This afternoon I inched my way towards the two lambs in the photograph amazed that I could get so close. Trusting? Or simply content to stay put in their warming plastic coats?

It is so good to feel well enough to walk, to join with the leaping energy of these young creatures. There is much to be grateful for.

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Overcome Difficulties

Reflections on Water

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Water contained
It could not have been a better day for walking. Sunshine out of a clear blue sky, still chilly though. Two walks, each circling around and ending where we began. The good company of Adrienne who is in training for the long walk around the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in April/May, much appreciated. That’s along with her husband Nigel.

We walked and snapped away at snow and trees and snow and water. Snow piled high above remote roads where drifting must have cut communications. Snow and water do some artful plays especially when reflections are part of the picture. But this evening I am not thinking about anything artful or playful regarding water. Oh no. When water hisses and bubbles from places it really oughtn’t it’s all hands on deck and a phone call to a plumber! Having a boiler malfunction during a long holiday week-end is not fun. However when I think about it there are people who have been without electricity for more than a week following the heavy snows.

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