November 13: Happy Endings/Beginnings

I've noticed in my own life and among my friends and family that happy endings/beginnings seem to transpire most often when dreams are kept alive...but not forced. Buddhists call this “non-grasping,” and it is an important way of being that helps us reduce our own suffering. If we want something too badly, we suffer while our coveted dream eludes our grasp. In fact, it is said that when the Buddha was asked to summarize his teaching in one sentence, he said, “Nothing whatsoever should be grasped at or clung to.” 

November 6: Light and Love Surround Us

With the time change in early November comes a bit of melancholy as the sun begins to set to early in the day. Last year at this time I sketched a corner of our kitchen to remind that no matter how short the daylight hours, light and love still surround us.