PEACE

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During a walk I noticed the word PEACE written on a paper angel attached to a tree fluttering in the wind.  It took me several attempts to get the picture of the angel as the wind was strong and the angel was continually moving.  While doing this it occurred to me that is just like life, we may set the intention that we want to lead a peaceful life and then life happens and perhaps someone annoys us, or we get an unexpected bill and before we know it, we are spun around and pulled out of our peace. 

However, if we could remember to pause before we react, and acknowledge what we are feeling, such as “feeling frustrated” or “feeling angry”, and then take a few slow deep breaths (time to let the angel spin back) and then respond in a way that feels peaceful to oneself and others so that we may lead a more peaceful life and share this serenity with others.

 

“Peace does not mean an absence of conflicts; differences will always be there. Peace means solving these differences through peaceful means.”

~Dalai Lama XIV

Health Tip!

I recently read an interesting article by Ocean Robbins of the Food Revolution Network who answers the question “Is it best to eat your vegetables raw or cooked?”

 He mentions 5 foods that might be better when cooked:

·     Spinach 

·     Asparagus 

·     Tomatoes 

·     Mushrooms 

·     Carrots, celery, and green beans 

Bigger Benefits possibly when raw:

·     Bell Peppers 

·     Broccoli

·     Onions

·     Garlic

To read the full report: https://foodrevolution.org/blog/raw-vs-cooked-vegetables

Book Review: “In Search of Wisdom”

A Monk, Matthieu Ricard, a Philosopher, Alexandre Jollien, and a Psychiatrist, Christophe Andre stayed together for two weeks to share their views and experiences about the “big subjects” of life such as The Ego, Origins of suffering, Guilt and Forgiveness.

It was interesting to read and helpful to see topics with different perspectives.

They include lots of teaching parables. Matthieu tells the story about a man who continually insulted the Buddha until the Buddha finally said to him “If someone gives you a gift and you refuse it, who in the end is the owner of the gift?”  A little disconcerted, the man replied that it’s the person who is trying to give the gift. And the Buddha concluded, “Your insults -I don’t accept them, thus they remain yours.”

And they include good practical advice such as creating a CCL (Couldn’t Care Less) file and putting in it all the useless thoughts that pass through your mind from morning to night.

There is wisdom in the book!

-Marnie