A friend told me that she has added the Ten Most Important Things According to Brother Ian (what ten? check here) to her morning practice…she does her morning asanas, meditates, pets the cat, then looks at the Ten Things before she sits down with her organic coffee & checks her e-mail, the news & other computer stuff.
This makes my heart glad, because I’m pretty sure those ten make the way we live & love each other that much better.
Saw someone today who asked me if I was happy & was I OK.
I believe this is because a)I was thinking about changing the transmission fluid in the car and that drives me into what most people would describe as a thoughtful, meditative-looking state, or b) I sometimes have BRF, or c) they wanted a donation.
Or all three.
But the truth is (90W transmission fluid aside), I generally like to think I’m pretty content with things around me (if that’s happy), accepting of things I can’t really change (which probably is forbearance more than being happy), or operate from a place of patience & waiting, until I can sort out a problem (which, some days, is mostly for the purpose of avoiding embarrassment).
Or all three.
Deep down, I know that happiness isn’t about things at all. It’s about finding ways to share. Or ways to heal. Or ways to give, forgive, and love.
Or all three.
And yes, that’s the kind of thing I think about, because I believe, deeply, that happiness is already there. Just gotta quit getting in the way of it.
Each day, a little closer, even if it seems it’s still a bit out of reach. Keep smiling, and (you know it) it’ll underline the way you share & heal. You watch.
Glad you’re there on this path with me. Makes it more fun.
A friend of mine who is practicing to be a teacher asked me (since I’ve worked as a teacher for kind of a long time), “What makes someone a good teacher?”
I believe this: It’s luck. It’s timing. And it’s a belief in sharing and healing. Here’s why.
It’s luck. You have to have a situation, with a bunch of puzzle pieces still on the table: There have to be students. There has to be a certain atmosphere. There has to be a lesson plan, or an agreement not to have a lesson plan. Helps if there’s a need, on the side of the students. Helps to have a teacher that people listen to. Helps to have something to share, that needs sharing, and that people want. It takes a bunch of things to make all this line up, and it helps if you’re lucky.
It’s timing. The lesson has to have a place to land, and maybe it’s ready, but the students aren’t. Maybe the kids are eager (like the birds above), but the teacher doesn’t have enough bugs for everyone. Maybe the class period is too short. Or too long. Or right after lunch, during naptime. Good timing takes practice, but watch for it & you’ll learn to orchestrate things so it happens more & more often.
And it’s all about sharing & healing. The important part of this, especially for new or young teachers, is getting it that sharing is a two way street. Naturally, we teachers have a lot to give & a desire to give, but it’s critical that we get back. That side of the sharing is harder to measure, impossible to be certain of, but essential to the dynamic. A huge part of learning is giving back to the teacher, and to the members of the class. Gotta happen, because we gotta learn.
The whales came to play yesterday off the west side of San Juan Island…photo courtesy of Katie Jones, Spyhopper Travels Photography.)
It’s the time of year when the salmon are around, so the Southern Resident killer whales come to San Juan around now & hang out for much of the summer. When they came yesterday, a number of local wildlife photographers headed to the west side of the island and captured some pictures to share… here’s what Katie Jones (her amazing photography is on her Spyhopper Travels website, here) had to say about the day:
Katie Jones – photo by Chris Teren/Teren Photography
I quite simply haven’t the words to describe today.
Easily one of my best shore encounters ever with J pod and… L pod! That’s right! Those little sneakers popped into the islands last night.
Our day started bright and early…only it wasn’t so bright this morning. Lots of fog, mist, and wind. After sitting on the west side of the island for three hours with nothing materializing, it was time to go to town and grab breakfast. Midway through the meal we get the report: lots and LOTS of orcas at Eagle Point northbound which then ensued the unhealthy shoving down of food and running for the door (we did remember to pay ).
Upon reaching the west side at Land Bank we saw J2 Granny, J19 Shachi, J41 Eclipse, and J26 Mike meandering up the coastline. They looked as if they might come close into shore which then caused us to go huffing and puffing quickly up the hill to drive down to Lime Kiln Lighthouse. While scrambling down onto the rocks at the light, Granny came by with the other three, but instead of continuing north, they turned and went back south. OH NO!
We made the wrong decision to leave Land Bank which turned quickly into regret and shaming ourselves for not being patient. BUT! That’s when things began to change. As we looked to the south, we began to see more and more and MORE orcas rounding Edwards Point. They were in very tight, playful groups and they were so close to shore! Oh…if only they keep coming this way… And did they ever!
They came in close at the lighthouse. They were practically at our feet as they socialized and frolicked in the silvery afternoon sun, adrenaline pounding through our systems like a happy wrecking ball, squeals of exuberance unable to be contained…
Long story short, it was a very good day.
For more photos of the orcas (and more, way more!) around San Juan Island and the Salish Sea, check out these wildlife & outdoors photographers:
(These folk are professionals – please don’t take their pictures without permission! Most photos can be purchased on their sites & would look beautiful on your wall!)
Defying gravity, earlier this week! Photo by Chris Teren/Teren Photography
Just today…let all of the words from your mouth lift our friends around us…and know the words tell what we think, what we believe, what we are….
What one thinks continually, they become; what one cherishes in their heart and mind they make a part of the pulsation of their heart, through their own blood cells, and build in their own physical, that which its spirit and soul must feed upon, and that with which it will be possessed, when it passes into the realm for which the other experiences of what it has gained here in the physical plane, must be used.
From the readings of the Akashic Records of Edgar Cayce
If it’s against the law to abuse cats & dogs (and children), then that shows humans understand what’s right & wrong. Brother & sister dolphins in prisons…more abuse. It’s easy – set them free.
Many people think of it as the Buddhist name for the place where we currently live — the place we leave when we go to nibbana.
But in the early Buddhist texts, it’s the answer – not to the question, “Where are we?” but to the question, “What are we doing?” Instead of a place, it’s a process: the tendency to keep creating worlds and then moving into them. As one world falls apart, you create another one and go there.
At the same time, you bump into other people who are creating their own worlds, too.
"I felt a rush of trust–felt that life might be not just tolerable but beautiful, if I could only remember to find the bare Present.
" -- David James Duncan, River Teeth
About Brother Ian
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.
In the spirit of noting that organized crime, organized baseball, organized labour, and organized religion tend to engender controversy & occasional discord, I promise to be neither organized or critical of those who are.
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.