Patrick Paul Garlinger's Blog, page 2
February 13, 2018
Watching Life Breathe for All of Us
As you breathe, your chest gently rising and falling, pause and ask yourself, who or what is doing the breathing? You might attribute it to some involuntary mechanism in the brain. Contemplate the possibility that it might also be some invisible force—some might call it life, others might call it God—that moves our breath for us. After all, we associate the first and last breaths with the beginning and end of life.Watch your breath and marvel at the simplicity and grace of life moving through...
February 5, 2018
Having No Opinion, Picking No Sides
[image error]What would it feel like to go throughout your day having no opinion and taking no sides in the face of any argument, competition or conflict, whether on a large scale or a small one? What would it feel like to be in complete acceptance of all that is – your only opinion taking the form “it is what it is.” You offer no judgment; you label nothing good or bad.This is not the conventional approach to the world, and certainly not to the world of politics, where you are asked always to take sides...
January 27, 2018
Letting Life Hold You
There are times, when I sink into a really comfortable chair and let go of all tension, that I am reminded that this is the way life can feel if I allow it. Sitting there, I can be completely held, without any effort on my part to hold myself up; the chair provides that support, without any demand in return. And as I sink even more deeply into the cushions, I can find small places in my body where I am ever so slightly clenched, still doing some of the work to support myself, instead of givin...
January 24, 2018
Who Will You Be Today
Who will you be today? That is the question that each dawn poses and promises. It is both a question and a gift, for we are not bound to be who were yesterday, for nothing that was yesterday still exists. It is an entirely new creation. You have only your memories and perceptions of what was yesterday, and those are fallible and fading. Nothing requires you to wake up and be the same person you were yesterday. Who will you be today? You can put down the anger or sadness, you can put away the...
January 22, 2018
Learning the Value of Tenderness
I have often heard it said that we are like stones, being polished by the river of life. Over time, our rough spots are washed away, leaving us smooth and shiny. Despite the analogy's allure, I am not a stone, and sometimes life’s polishing doesn’t leave me smooth and shiny, so much as raw. Too many of life’s scrapes, and I emerge with a tender spot, like soft pink skin that won’t heal until it’s no longer poked or prodded. In those moments, knowing that further irritation can only do more ha...
January 21, 2018
Releasing Judgment
Judgment is an effort by our minds to make some sense of our world, but it always brings suffering. We constantly everything we see and come into contact with. We judge whether things are “bad” or “good" with such ease and frequency that we might believe that such evaluations of the external world are natural. And we do it even though we all recoil from the hot sting of another's judgment, of being seen as “bad” or "disliked."We judge events as "bad," even though we have our blindspots and a...
January 15, 2018
The Demands of Our Gifts
Our egos tend to keep us small. They try to protect us from the inevitable sting of failure, rejection, and doubt that come with exploring the world and opening to areas of it where we don’t fit, so that one day we might find where we actually belong. Along the way, we’ve managed and packaged our lives to avoid living out our true self—the gift we are meant to bring the to the world—so it doesn’t overwhelm us, so that we feel safe and secure. We keep it domesticated because, if we let it out,...
January 8, 2018
The Taste of Sunlight
I yearn to write just one line that reminds you of the taste of sunlight.But my words, choked tight by logic and law, gasp for air.I pause to catch their breath, and wonder to myself, have I ever tasted sunlight?
January 7, 2018
Contemplating Death
The only way to live this life fully is to truly and deeply contemplate the end of it. I was reminded recently of a Zen teaching about each day of life means that we are one day closer to death and, therefore, to use that day wisely. We so often avoid death, and in so doing, avoid touching the preciousness of our life. In so doing, we fail to notice that its richness is interwoven with its volatility and unpredictability. Acknowledge that you will die and get in touch with those feelings, bec...
January 6, 2018
The Power of Acceptance
The path to total self-love and healing lies in acceptance. We often confuse acceptance with acquiescence or resignation, but they are not the same. There is a power to acceptance that the other two do not have. Acceptance is a state where you do not resist, fix, or change anything. You are simply with, and present to, that which is. So accept where you are right now and the challenges you face—emotional, physical, financial or metaphysical. Be with them as with a sick friend, holding a space...
