Yes, Yes, More Meditative Thoughts

"Stand still.  No matter how hard it is, stand still and let what has already been started work itself out.  Don't talk, don't touch what has been set in motion.  To press and push and double check the works when it is all normal and moving can be damaging.  Stand still and keep a single eye.  If the principle is sound, it will do good work.  When we believe in what we are doing and we have done it to the best of our ability, then it is time to keep our hands off and spend time blessing.  Reach past the present moment to a new vision.  See the end result.  See it completed successfully.  Never mind the in between - only say it is working well."  The Cherokees

Sometimes thoughts are presented so beautifully, so annoyingly, without a lot of extra words or embellishments, that I can only copy them word for word.  If something moves me in a particular way I will occasionally jot down a thought on the page containing the wisdom.  For the above reminder all I could write down was: "Damn."  I mean . . . this is the Serenity Prayer.  This is the sentiment offered when we ask for the strength to do what we should do, the patience to wait quietly when we've done the best we can, and the wisdom to know which is which, and don't overlook that last part because we have lived a life where we push when we shouldn't and wander off when we should be doing something.

"Sticking with a spiritual training requires an ocean of patience because our habit of wanting to be somewhere else is so strong.  We'e distracted ourselves from the present for so many moments, for so many years, even lifetimes.  In meditation at first, thoughts carry us away, and we think them for a long time.  Then, as concentration grows we remember our breath in the middle of a thought.  Later we can notice thoughts just as they arise or allow them to pass in the background, so focused on the breath that we are undisturbed by their movement."  Jack Kornfeld

This dude, this Buddhist master, has such a clear way of expressing the beauty of what we can expect from a practice of meditation.  The benefits of being able to sit quietly is beyond reproach.