Reflections

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  1. Ose
    Ose
    17 hours ago

    Gratefulness can be humbling. It was and is felt often, like today in a still moment while tenderly and with joy observing the tiny little flowers at the altar ready to unfold, wishing them to blossom in all their natural beauty, as well as this early morning dawn when leaving the house, the world in silence and the air clear and frosty outside, the moon still high up in the sky, stars blinking and being filled with humble gratefulness for this very moment of beauty,, stillness and silent connectivity with it all.

    1. Barb C
      Barb C
      1 hour ago

      Your description of the still and frosty night brings me peace, Ose.

  2. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    21 hours ago

    It helps me to recognize and be accepting of my own limitations and limitations of others. It helps me value other people’s gifts & talents.

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      20 hours ago

      Yes, Robin, there’s only so much human beings can do. “No man is an island. No one goes his way alone. What you put into the lives of others will come back on to its own” Phil Jackson.

  3. Barb C
    Barb C
    23 hours ago

    I’ve been reading Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. One short chapter each morning, as he suggests. He has so much to say about how we are finite human beings. “Imperfectionism” is a much more spacious place to operate from than trying to do more than is humanly possible or believing that everything depends on us. This question fits with his writing. I highly recommend the book.

    A snippet from Day 28:

    “I’m always taken aback by the relaxation that floods through me when I’m reminded of my almost complete lack of importance in the scheme of things. One might expect to find such reflections depressing or demotivating. But I experience them as liberating; my shoulders drop, and I’m able to exhale. The truth, as one spiritual teacher puts it, is that reality doesn’t need me to help operate it. It carries on fine regardless.”

    From day 27 on realizing that everyone is imperfect and does things anyway, he talks about taking on something big.

    “You won’t feel like you know what you’re doing. But nobody ever does; that’s just how it is for finite humans, attempting new things. The main difference between those who accomplish great things anyway and those who don’t is that the former don’t mind not knowing. They were not less flawed or finite than you. Everything they ever did was done by people.”

  4. Mary
    Mary
    24 hours ago

    The great beauty in nature and in the universe occur without my help.
    a sunrise,
    a sunset,
    gorgeous cloud formations sweeping across the sky.
    The perfection and miracle of newborn babies.
    The biology of my human body,
    from the tiniest atom, to my lungs, brain, and consciousness.
    I can live in awe, wonder, and gratefulness.
    I am grateful and I am humbled. .
    Because the beauty and the majesty of this world
    is not of my making.

    Peace to all
    and Happy Saturday.

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      23 hours ago

      Beautiful,
      dear Mary…
      and peace to you as well. ♥️

  5. sparrow51014
    sparrow
    1 day ago

    I have always felt that part of being grateful
    is that it IS humbling…
    being grateful itself
    admits that we are not all
    independent entities.
    We are grateful
    for the gifts in our lives,
    which acknowledges the irrefutable truth
    that we are all connected.
    We all need each other.
    Being grateful
    opens my heart
    and brings beauty into my life…
    being grateful
    makes me ready for love.
    Being grateful
    makes me realize how much I have,
    and how very fortunate I am.
    Being grateful
    makes me compassionate
    for those who suffer the ungodly want and need there is in the world.
    So yes,
    I am humbly grateful
    for these many gifts
    with love… ♥

    1. Mary
      Mary
      24 hours ago

      Your words, dear Sparrow, have left me light and joyful.

  6. Carol Ann Conner
    Carol
    1 day ago

    Gratefulness promotes humility because it leads to growth and greater self awareness that refrains from blame and shame. I don’t feel above or below just a part of this thing we call Life. I found these sayings in my 1991 journal:

    Sayings on Responsibility and Humility

    “As the saying goes, man must have two pockets into which he can reach at one time or another according to his need. In his right pocket he must keep the words:”For my sake was the world created.” And in his left pocket: “I am dust and ashes.” Quoted by Sheldon Kopp in his book, “If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him.”

    “Ever deepening humility, accompanied by an ever greater willingness to accept and to act upon clear cut obligations—these are truly our touchstones for all growth in the life of the spirit. They hold up to us the very essence of right being and right doing.” Bill W in an AA talk printed in the Jan 1966 issue of the Grapevine

    My beloved 12 –Step sponsor used to say, “God loves you just the way you are and whenever the going gets rough, remember you have God.” She also said that “Step One in which we admit our powerlessness is the place where we all should live!”

    She also use to say, “Dying to the need to control is not easy. To be alive, truly alive, is the challenge.”
    Willingness
    This I know…there is one death that is most necessary. It is the death of the small-self, the unaware self. That death is life-giving. Am I alive?

    “A practice of gratitude is not about dismissing sadness, anger, fear, or confusion. Rather, it offers us the opportunity to see that we often experience multiple feelings at once; to welcome joy into the same places where we hold grief; to turn our attention to what is quietly growing and breathing day by day, which, to our possible surprise, includes ourselves. “ Kristin Lin

  7. c
    Carol Ann
    1 day ago

    Gratefulness is very humbling. The very perspective of feeling gratefulness is that of being very, very small in a very large and very divine Unknown. And what a relief to experience that.

  8. Charlie T
    Charlie T
    1 day ago

    I agree. It can be humbling to be grateful for what you have and where you have come to.
    This question sent me down the definition hole.
    The word “humble” is closely related to “humility” and “humus”, meaning ground or dirt.
    I certainly admire and respect when someone lives with humility. And I’m perfectly okay being low or close to the earth.
    Riches and wealth do not impress me, but when someone can be humble or have humility while being “successful” and wealthy, I find to be a very admirable trait and maybe not such an easy task.

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      1 day ago

      Great wording, Charlie. I remember playing classic Mario games during my childhood. It’s only in video game world that we can live on clouds. We’d fall down and die in real life. Ii we get too high, we’ll come crashing down to earth. The ground is where we belong. It’s why people who are calm and stand close to the middle are known as “Down to Earth.”

    2. c
      Carol Ann
      1 day ago

      Oh, Thank you, Charlie!!! Realizing from you that (oh my! —->) the “root” of the words humility and humus – are both related to “ground”…. oh, one could trip on just that for quite some time!!!!! I am all about soil and humus, so I love bridging from there to humility and gratitude. I feel “more grounded” (!!!!) already!🙏🤭 thank you!

      1. Joseph
        Joseph McCann
        15 hours ago

        Best to always care for the soil and its health. 🌱

  9. Elizabeth H67151
    Elizabeth H
    1 day ago

    That does make sense to me. It seems like gratefulness practices make me more aware of my interconnection and it takes me out of the world-view where I am the center of the world. Instead of thinking that my needs are the most important, or that I have to save the world single-handedly, it makes me more aware of how much I am receiving and how much others are doing to help our world. Which is humbling.

  10. L
    Loc Tran
    1 day ago

    I’m grateful for whatever I have. Going after our desires has its limits.

  11. Marnie Jackson34408
    Marnie Jackson
    1 day ago

    Gratefulness is humbling because it offers me perspective. It helps me see that the world is not right and wrong; that it is perspectives and seeing the value in others, even when I disagree with their beliefs.

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      1 day ago

      Marnie, I’m a competitor. It’s why I love sports with basketball and football being my favorite 2.
      Been there; done that. Coming in with the mindset of “I’m right” is tempting. For me, my deepest fear is being controlled by others. My desire for power is still and will always be there, but it’s certainly better managed than even a few months ago let alone years. Please excuse the language, but I always remind myself the saying “Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has them, and they all stink.”

  12. Michele
    Michele
    1 day ago

    “Gratefulness can be humbling”- this statement resonates with me because it can snap you out of negative talking/thinking and re-ground yourself to being thankful and grateful again. Each day is a work-in-progress to try to remain Present and not past/future trip – that is hard bc of old habits sometimes and it takes a conscious effort to go back to the Present time and time again.
    Have a great weekend everyone 🙂

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      1 day ago

      Michele, the easiest parties to host are piddy parties. Those are not the fun ones.

  13. Patti
    sunnypatti
    1 day ago

    Gratitude is humbling because it grounds me and it helps me stay in the now while at the same time reminding me that I am part of something so much bigger than my little ego me. As I practice gratitude, I notice so much more, which I also attribute to my yoga practice that I am ever so grateful for! As I notice more, that also helps bring me out of my self, into the greater connection I share with all.

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      1 day ago

      Sunnypatti, Autonomy is my core value. Being controlled is my deepest fear. My desire to do things my way increases the more I’m being pushed.
      Every culture has its blind spots. For Traditional Asian cultures, it’s coming off pushy. The family is prioritized over the individual. Our main blind spot here in the US is hypersensitivity. We have it so easy that we lose track of what got us here in the 1st place and have our priorities in the wrong place.
      I remember telling Mary from Antoinette’s post a few days ago about Hypersensitivity. The more I try to do things my way, the more I overthink. Overthinking and hypersensitivity go together.

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        21 hours ago

        They do go together. May we all remember to pause when we feel ourselves start to overthink!

        1. L
          Loc Tran
          21 hours ago

          Sunnypatti, a couple things I have going for me now are meditation and this site. The former brings me closer to my breath and more aware of the 5 senses. The ladder helps me release my thoughts and learn from others. I’m a learner. Learning regularly helps me grow in all different directions.

  14. Mary
    Mary Mantei
    1 day ago

    “Gratefulness can be humbling.” Yes, it confronts my ego in many ways. Gratefulness requires and allows me to let go of so much; rightness, history, control, FOMO, and on it goes. I don’t always get it “right” the first go round, but I do get it right more and more. And that is the direction I want to go.

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      1 day ago

      Mary Mantei, this reminds me of 1 of Phil Jackson’s 11 zen principles. “Bench the ego.”

      1. Mary
        Mary Mantei
        5 hours ago

        Thank you, Loc Tran. I, too, am a Phil Jackson fan.

        1. L
          Loc Tran
          4 hours ago

          Nice, Mary Mantei. No problem. “Lakers Zen Culture” is the title of my version. The title is open for interpretation. I intended to add on to whatever’s already there. Somehow, I stumbled upon this idea for my own group. I have deep Laker ties. It has Chicago roots as well. It’s where Phil started his head coaching journey.
          Championships and starpower define the Lakers from Minneapolis to LA. They have 17 banners now. They’ve always had iconic superstars from: George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, AD, to Luka.

  15. D
    Dawn Elaine Bowie
    1 day ago

    I’m in the midst of yet another challenging life experience in a very long line of them. This time though I noticed something new, surprising even. In the past, when I’d experience one of these bumps I’d find myself asking, “Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this?” And therein lies the problem. Because when I can look around at the whole picture of my life, at what’s right in front of me, I begin to see little flashes of light around the edges of what seems to be total darkness. When I unspool the record of my own little life, I can recall so many blessings, gifts, treasures. I didn’t “deserve” those either. But they were given anyway, often when I didn’t know I needed or wanted them. “Why me?” takes on a whole new meaning. I think that’s the point of the literary theme of the Scripture stories of the Jewish people. It was never about deserving anything. It was always about love.

    1. c
      Carol Ann
      1 day ago

      good luck to you with this one, Dawn Elaine. wishing you well – I hope our “little flashes of light” continue to grow and help.🙏

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