Remind
yourself every morning,
every morning, every morning:
“I’m going to do something. I’ve made a
commitment.” Not for yourself, but
beyond yourself. You belong to
the collective. Don’t go
wandering off or you
will perish.
Remind
yourself every morning,
every morning, every morning:
“I’m going to do something. I’ve made a
commitment.” Not for yourself, but
beyond yourself. You belong to
the collective. Don’t go
wandering off or you
will perish.
My advice
to other disabled people would be,
concentrate on things your disability doesn’t
prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things
it interferes with. Don’t be disabled
in spirit as well as physically.
If there
is peace in your mind
you will find peace with everybody.
If your mind is agitated you will find agitation
everywhere. So first find peace within and you will
see this inner peace reflected everywhere else.
You are this peace! You are happiness,
find out. Where else will you
find peace if not
within
you?
andrew kowalik, “before the storm”
If I
had known how
sorrowful this world is,
I would have become grass
or a tree in a deep
mountain!
Ryokan
translated by kazuaki tanahashi