Village At Pathways

Storytelling and the Art of Tenderness: Olga Tokarczuk’s Magnificent Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech “Tenderness is the most modest form of love. It is the kind of love that does not appear in the scriptures or the gospels, no one swears by it, no one cites it… It appears wherever we t…

They’re all good parts forced into roles they don't like. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. - Richard Schwartz

Creating distance from your thoughts:

💭 I am a failure.
Vs.
💭💭 I am having the thought that I am a failure
Vs.
💭💭💭 I am noticing that I am having the thought that I am a failure.

[Emojis are white thought bubbles]

Ceri Boycott - Train Your Brain

Lucille Clifton

"One way to get free of attachment is to cultivate the witness consciousness, to become a neutral observer of your own life. The witness place inside you is simple awareness, the part of you that is aware of everything — just noticing, watching, not judging, just being present, being here now. 
 
The witness is actually another level of consciousness. The witness coexists alongside your normal consciousness as another layer of awareness, as the part of you that is awakening. Humans have this unique ability to be in two states of consciousness at once.  
 
Witnessing yourself is like directing the beam of a flashlight back at itself. In any experience — sensory, emotional, or conceptual — there’s the experience, the sensory or emotional or thought data, and there’s your awareness of it. That’s the witness, the awareness, and you can cultivate that awareness in the garden of your being. 
 
The witness is your awareness of your own thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Witnessing is like waking up in the morning and then looking in the mirror and noticing yourself — not judging or criticizing, just neutrally observing the quality of being awake. That process of stepping back takes you out of being submerged in your experiences and thoughts and sensory input and into self-awareness. 
 
Along with that self-awareness comes the subtle joy of just being here, alive, enjoying being present in this moment. Eventually, floating in that subjective awareness, the objects of awareness dissolve, and you will come into the spiritual Self, the Atmān, which is pure consciousness, joy, compassion, the One. 
 
- Ram Dass 
 
Image:

"The art of life is to stay wide open and be vulnerable, yet at the same time to sit with the mystery and the awe and with the unbearable pain — to just be with it all." -

It's All Perfect: https://www.ramdass.org/perfect/ -5729

Ha! "...No, not the beer or the Professional Bull Riders organization. PBR is Race’s go-to acronym for parents trying to stay calm and grounded in the face of a tantrum or other unpleasantness from their kids. The 'P' stands for 'pause,' the 'B' stands for 'breathe,' and the 'R' stands for 'respond with intention.'"

5 Easy Ways To Be A More Mindful Parent "We’re missing out on all of these meaningful moments with our kids, because we’re literally just trying to survive."

A teal, blue, blue-green pumpkin on the porch = non-food treats at this house (no trick, just a safe stop for kids w/ allergies).

Teal Pumpkins Offer Allergy Safe Halloween Stops The Food Allergy Research and Education wants to make Halloween inclusive for kids with food allergies, who may feel excluded because many Halloween foods are on their no-no list.

How to Combat ‘Flight, Fight, and Freeze’ There are simple ways to short-circuit the body’s response to stress

Unbelievable. Bottomless inhumanity and self absorption.

Opinion | Trump’s Inhumanity Before a Victim of R**e In his boundless self-absorption, this president is capable of anything.

Slideshow: Chores Kids Can Do, at Every Age Here are age-appropriate chores for kids, from toddler to teenager. Plus, see why chores are good for children, and get tips for getting them to help without nagging.