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This is a poem by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh which I really like - to me, it spells out the essential connectedness of our true nature and the cyclical existence of samsara…

Call Me by My True Names

Do not say that I’ll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.

Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to
Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea
pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
loving.

I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my
hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his “debt of blood” to, my
people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all
walks of life.
My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Dharma Writing Workshop

I had lunch with a friend 2 weeks ago and we touched on this topic.

Being a very successful career woman, she has the job and income that everyone admires. However, she pays dearly for this – she has to sacrifice her family, her social life and above all, her health.

If we have the conversation a few year ago, she would be saying that it is worth it… but now, she somehow expressed that maybe this type of lifestyle is not making her happy and fulfilled.

Sometime I wonder how do we draw our boundary? How much is putting enough effort into career? How much is giving too much in this context?

And also, for the rich people – having how much money is enough for them? I am sure you have seen lots of wealthy people who cry over a lost opportunity of making a few million, whereas they have already have more than have enough to feed the entire village for years.

Fear often lies beneath our compulsion to gain more. We falsely believe that possessions will bring us security in cyclic existence. In fact, our attachment to them keeps us bound in a prison of dissatisfaction. We constantly crave more and better, yet are never satisfied with what we have. There are very few people in big cities that really don’t have enough for survival, it’s actually the fear of not having enough that bound us in this prison.

Appreciating what you have and being in the present is so important – only then can you realise that abundance is right here right now.

The plane finally arrived in Shanghai…Just like everyone else on the plane, I was exhausted and the only thing in my mind was to get out of the plane as soon as possible! In a hurry, I put my dark blue jumper into my bag while contemplating my plan for the next day.

While I was following the crowd and moved slowly towards the exist, a gentlemen standing a few persons behind me shouted out, ” Hey miss, you left a blue jacket in the seat!”. “Oh no!” I thought – while I was thankful to this friendly reminder, I was frustrated by the fact that I had to go against the current and return to my seat to get it (you can imagine how difficult it was to do so!)… when I was finally there, I found that it’s a blue blanket used in the plane but NOT my blue jacket… my jacket was in my bag!

This experience made me wonder how easily we could be influenced by what other people say, especially when we are not fully present and mindful of what we are doing. Everyone has her own opinion and perception, but it’s not necessary true or beneficial for you. A lot of time, people have their limiting beliefs and bias which may in turn affect us negatively if we don’t think clearly for ourselves.

It’s therefore important for us to be mindful and centered, especially for important matters such as how we want to live our lives, what is our life purpose, whom we want to be with for the rest of our lives…This is our lives and our own responsbilities. ..what we really need to do is to listen to our heart.

This quote from legandary pychologist and educator Virginia Satir is very inspiring for me : “We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions