Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Just what I need for lunch today

A Thought for the Day From Sri Eknath Easwaran
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The disunited mind is far from wise; how can it meditate?
How be at peace? When you know no peace, how can you know joy?
-- Bhagavad Gita

Today's mania for speed strikes right at the root of our capacity for an even mind. How often we find ourselves locked into behavior and situations that force us to hurry, hurry, hurry! By now, most of us are aware that compulsive speed -- "hurry sickness" -- can be a direct threat to our physical health. But hurry has another alarming repercussion: it cripples patience. When we lack patience, even a few moments' delay, a trivial disappointment, an unexpected obstacle, makes us explode in anger. We are not hostile people; we are just in such a hurry that keeping
the mind calm is impossible. Without peace of mind, how can we enjoy anything, from a movie to good health? When we go slower, we are more patient, and when we are more patient, we are capable of enjoying life more. All these benefits can come from just learning to slow down.
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>From Eknath Easwaran, "Words to Live By" (Nilgiri Press, 1997)
http://www.nilgiri.org/Html/Thoughts/today.html

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