Two Inspiring Menus and A Banquet – Don Hanley’s blog #24

A challenging BANQUET Timothy Egan’s DAUGHTER SOPHIA GAVE TO HIM:

“I don’t like labels; I don’t have a text or Bible I consult. But I know what I believe. I value family, friends, love, community, lifelong learning, continuous self-improvement, creative expression, empathy, care of the natural world, and all the creatures who inhabit it.” Her dad, who had worried about her ‘salvation,’ responded, “You’re going to be fine.” And I would add: "Sophia is honoring the menu AND digesting the banquet!"

And I believe Thich Nhat Hanh gives us a few guidelines to meet the challenge in his book Being Peace. I hope you will like it too:

“Even though life is hard and sometimes difficult to smile, we must try. Just as we wish each other “Good morning,” it must be a real “Good morning.” Recently, one friend asked me, “How can I force myself to smile when filled with sorrow? It isn’t natural!” I told her she must be able to smile to her sorrow because we are more than our sorrow. A human being is like a television set with millions of channels. If we turn the Buddha on, we are the Buddha. If we turn on sorrow, we are sorrow. If we turn a smile on, we are the smile. We cannot let just one channel dominate us. We have the seed of everything in us, and we must seize the situation in our hand to recover our sovereignty.”

NOW, from yours truly, Don Hanley: I believe it was not until I formally retired from being “too busy” that I became aware of my true self. So, I am spending more time . . . 

Nurturing my heart and avoiding eating the menu – please join me.