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patrick-graven · 2 years

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The Nature Of Tranquility

There is a beautiful solitude in nature that gives us a clarity of mind that is free of all obstructions. To look straight ahead, where nature is leading us, through the things that happen to us, and our own nature, through our own actions. With naturally occurring things, the force that designed them is present within them and remains there. Place our well being in our own hands, keep the mind calm and to be aware and ready to make good use of whatever happens in our path.

The most beautiful moments in life are moments when we are expressing our joy and soul, not when we are seeking it. When we are joyous by our own nature, when we don’t have to do anything to be happy, then the very dimension of our life, the very way we perceive, experience our life and express ourselves in the world will change. Every moment there are a million miracles happening around us, a tree growing, a bird flying, a river flowing, the colours in the sky changing across the clouds. If we learn how to live it, life is nothing short of a daily miracle.

Always decide to make how we feel the number one priority in our life. This life is about how we focus and spend our energy. We influence our entire reality by changing our own vibration as our entire reality are a projection of our own consciousness. We all know that it is important to love ourselves, where we feel pain, is where we begin. Once we develop the freedom and willingness to feel and to grow, eventually our emotions will no longer frighten us, will learn to embrace them.

When we decide to commit our life to becoming the best version of ourselves that we can be, the universe stands in gratitude for us, because we carry the world into that new place with us. It is a universal truth that anything that we have the ability to desire, we have the ability to achieve. Consider that everything we do as the planting of a seed, for it will only grow as much as we help it to. We create our destiny, every thought, every feeling, every choice, every action.

There are certain things in life that are more worthy, more valuable than anything else, knowing how to help someone, supporting someone in times of need, how to be a friend, a warrior, a good human being, knowing what to do in certain situations, knowing how to do things that will make things better for ourselves and others, and it all starts with being completely honest. Truth is embedded in our heart, it is the reason why we do the things we do and the heart never lies in anything we do because you are always doing what you feel is truthful.

Start with being truthful, in everything we do and say. We cannot catch something we're not pursuing. True humbleness, kindness, passion and truthfulness are the marks of great people. Those things will never be the cause of bad things happening. If we are not motivated to get started on something, emotionally connect with our goals and visions. If we visualise the feeling of reaching our goals and see it before us, it certainly will motivate us to push on further and make it way more easier to do so.

When we resist change, we resist life. To live by our own nature, the quality of our life depends on how well we manage our body, mind, emotions, thoughts, experiences and our life in general and the world. It’s time to regain ourselves, too many people have fallen in love with words and are lost in the world. The only thing that stands between us and our well being is a simple fact, we have allowed our thoughts and emotions to take instruction from the outside rather than the inside.

All things start to make more sense when we are actively working on them and when we are completely engaged in what we are doing. Our eyes are always in the direction of things we are interested in approaching. We all have the potential to be great at something, but it's hard work and over time, that hard work turns into something great and meaningful. The things we're interested in are the things that will direct us and guide us on our path. It matters not where we come from, it matters what we're made of.

All that lives is in the course of change, ever part of us all will be appointed by change, for it is through the same process of change that we came to exist. All things are interwoven, and the bond that unites them is pure and sacred, hardly anything is remote from one another, for they have been made and ordered to form a common universe. For there is one universe made up of all this is and one nature that pervades all things, one truth, one reason, one soul common to all creatures of the same earth.

In the arena of human life, the virtues flourish in those who show their good qualities and character. The good of doing good is feeling good and thinking more good, reflecting more of its own time and time again. Good actions and efforts give strength to ourselves. We become what we do, everyday. True strength is about heart and passion, the true meaning of courage. All things become beautiful when minds and hearts are striving for goodness and progress. The wise know best to give things time.

The art of living is a serenity in itself, to live out our days content and present in our own way of life. The universal nature's impulse was to create an orderly world, it follows that everything now happening must follow a reasonable sequence, remembrance of this will help us to face many things calmly. The spiritual abyss is something within ourselves, found on the journey of getting to know ourselves through the life we all create. To know that our reality is our own creation. It's not the length of our lives that matter, it's the depth and meaning of it all.

We do what we can in life until our destiny is revealed. What we will leave behind will not be engraved in stone monuments, but woven into the hearts of others. Our wisdom in life consists not of the knowledge we already have, but of the continual search for knowledge and progress, which is the highest form of all wisdom. Where there's growth, there's progress, and where there's progress, there is change, and that is vital for life.

If someone is to live, they must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit, that is the essence of living. Every moment and every event of our life on earth plants something in our soul. Once someone has reached enlightenment in one thing, they will have an enlightened mind and understanding of many things, for the very thing that is most important is the growth with one’s very soul every second of every day to accomplish one’s aim.

The dawn of freedom and love is to let all be perfectly itself. Let everything be allowed to be what it naturally does, so that its own nature will be satisfied. When we become one with nature on the path of freedom, naturally we learn to accept everything for what it is and be one with the mountains, lakes and rivers. Life can either disintegrate or it can come together stronger in proportion to one's awareness and one's courage. For without courage and awareness, we cannot do anything consistently over time.

There is one light of the sun, even though shadowed by the clouds and mountains, there is one common substance, even though it is divided into countless individual bodies, each with its own particular qualities. Reflect on the rapidity with which all that exists and is coming to be is swept past us and disappears from sight. For substances like a river in perpetual flow and its activities are ever changing and its causes infinite in their variations. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is seen through the eyes of our soul.

Constantly think of the universe as a living being, comprised of a single soul, for there is a stream of things entering into being. To see the things of the present moment is to see all that is now. All that has been since the birth of time and all that shall be unto the world's end, for all things are of one kind and one form. Think often of the bond that unites everything in the universe and their dependence upon one another. Realise that every living thing is connected to one another.

A peaceful life consists in the tranquillity of mind and soul, so the things that have regularly come into our being will continue to come into being in the same manner, they will grow and flourish so far as each is allowed by nature itself. The contentment of our life depends on the quality of our thoughts and feelings as one. Everything flows and nothing abides, nature gives way and nothing stays the same. The way we see ourselves, shapes our view of the world.

The heart of the individual eternally hungers for the essence of genuine being, and that the willingness to take on that responsibility is the same to the decision to live a meaningful life. If we pay attention, when we are seeking something, we will move towards our goal, more importantly, we will acquire the information that allows our goal itself to transform. It regulates our emotions, our motivational states and determines our thoughts. Our spirit walks with the body.

Tranquility consists in the good ordering of the mind. If we try to adapt our mind to the regular sequence of changes and accept the inevitable with good grace, our life will proceed quite smoothly and harmoniously. For they who are afraid of pain will also be afraid of some of the beautiful things that will happen in the world. The tranquility that comes when we listen to our own soul, that freedom, in what we feel, think and what we do. Such as are our habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of our mind.

To live a meaningful life, it is only going to be as meaningful as the amount of responsibility that we are willing to take on. It's difficult, but if we take responsibility and move towards the pain willingly, then we can transcend it and get to a place where we are progressing and feeling better in our life, that's why we should love it, it's worth the difficulty. The meaning of it all is only activated when proceeding towards a goal that we value. What we most want to find will be discovered where we least want to look. By becoming courageous, we increase our potential for being virtuous.

Anytime we delve into something new, we will learn valuable lessons. Once the will is resolved, one’s spirit is strengthened. It is good to face challenges in our path, for they who have never suffered will not learn and grow naturally. The spiritual aspect of valor is evidenced by composure, the calm presence of mind. To always have an attitude towards life that consists of the passion and essence to strive to be better and make spirituality as the path to achieve greatness.

There is one sky, which is all ours together. When we are young we hold onto hope, but as we grow up more and experience life, nothing will save us any more than ourselves and our strength and passion for making things better in any way we can. Of all the wilderness of the land and the sea, the wildest is still in our own nature. Whatever a person's actions are, such must be their strength of love and spirit. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes, let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they are meant to be.

There is a pattern in creation, if we look at the tree outside whose roots search beneath the ground for water, even our own selves seek to what we need to stay alive, the inner forces that drive us to take action in our lives, we can see that we all move to the music of life and the waves of change. The basic laws of the universe are simple, and because our senses are limited, we can only grasp so much. Peace is our safety, identify with it and realise that we are content.

To know ourselves, we must be the master of our own kingdom. Be the philosopher at heart and the person of action. To always gain wisdom along our journey, have our eyes open so we can see and have our hands ready for whatever may happen. Set our sights at the good and what is true, and then focus pointedly and carefully on the concerns of each moment that we have in our life. We must each adopt as much responsibility as possible for individual life and for the world we live in.

When we carve out time on a daily basis to reflect, think about what matters and what we truly want to do, we will be rewarded with better instinct, character, insight and wisdom. When we actually have a clear vision of what we want, we can have it, all we have to do is know exactly what we want and move towards that goal and act on it, so we orient our life in such a way that our efforts that we put in will allow it to develop but we have to be deadly serious about what it is we are pursuing.

Freedom is the open sky through which pours the light of the human spirit. Embrace it, rise in love with its constant growth and stream of change from where it all flows from, the open heart, to live in a way that enhances peace and the freedom of others. The journey is valuable, with many challenges along the way but believing in ourselves and just being ourselves naturally can carve a beautiful path ahead for better days. To feel with meaning, to live with feeling.

For as long as we are alive and living, we are growing. For we are changing and constantly learning from each and every day. Let our past be our own soil and let each day be the water and sunlight for us to grow, it's a process of continuing growth, a cycle of change for ones own development. By changing what we cling to in the present, we can alter the future. Refine our personality, be free to live the life that we want to live by making choices and apply what we want to do.

To stand up straight with our with eyes wide open and accept the responsibility of life. We must determine where we are going in our life, because we cannot get there unless we move in that direction. Don't tolerate being overwhelmed beyond our capacity to cope while we are learning what we still need to know, as we need to place one foot in what we have mastered and the other in what we are currently exploring and mastering.

We must always adapt to every situation and everything that happens along the way. To be ready and free to make changes and to take action when it is needed. To focus on every task and goal that needs to be done but adaptable so if anything may happen, are ready to improvise in that situation. We must be free and flowing, but not to go with the flow, but to become the flow itself and the only way to do that is to carve the path ahead, for action is the depth of the flow.

The universe itself works in such a way as it is a mirror of our self. One of the most important and valuable lessons in the universe is that we get what we put in, and that goes with everything, the results always show, so what we get from our efforts is what we have given from our efforts. The energy that goes into whatever it is that we are directing our time and energy into, that develops from there, because life develops what it demands, if there are no demands, nothing will develop.

One must have courage in the world, it is the soil for ones strength and ability. The best thing we can do for ourselves is take action and always face whatever it is that needs to be faced. One can't sail for new horizons until they have the strength to leave behind the shores of the past. If we always remember why we started, keep that in our mind and our heart all the time, that spark of courage inside, and those hard times won't feel quite so hard. Confront the oceans of life, for they hold the depths of us.

The more we endure, the better we become, because every action has a purpose, and when every action has a purpose, every action has a result. Always be willing to get up and go at it again and again and again, for that’s the person who has their hands raised later in life, because that was the person with dreams and goals. We are what we do repeatedly, because today it begins, tomorrow it continues and it never ends, until we reach our goals.

This is our world, we are the creators, find the freedom and the meaning and make something worth doing so it will live on. To make the world a better place, first we must do the things we have to do everyday. Work as hard as we possibly can on at least one thing everyday and see what happens from that. Where there's growth, there's progress, and where there's progress, there is change. To be grateful in spite of our suffering and pain, that is the soil for our own growth.

To be truly here in the present, we have to bring the body to the mind, and the mind back to the body. The earth is beautiful, for we have beauty within us and see it that way. When we are able to find tranquility within ourselves, it is found everywhere on our journey. Our movement is like that of water, our stillness like that of the sky, the beauty of all the colours of our own creation. The path is as the shining light, that shine rays of life into our days.

Learn from life and from nature, from people and from yourself. Every single being every single day teaches us something equally as valuable as anybody else. That which we must learn to do, we learn by doing. To a wise being, the whole earth is open, for the nature of a good soul is the whole earth, moon and stars. The world us humans perceive is the real world. We learn about nature through use of the senses and what can be learned from our perceptions. In all things of nature there is something of beauty.

Life is absolute change and growth, and we have to be adaptable to whatever may happen. To do what feels right for ourselves, to follow the combination of our head and our heart. For our intuition is important and our experience is just as important if not more, that balance, of actual hard work and understanding to use our experiences to move forward with the work, because we are on our own in the process, so we must do what needs to be done reach the next stage of progress, that is all part of the process.

Live and stay in the present, it's what our heart needs to stay alive. The real key to enlightenment is every so often, to remind ourselves that we are alive, we woke up today, not everyone in the world made it through the night to see another day. Everyone will have hard times but they will always wake us up to the things we weren't paying attention to. We are changing and growing for as long as we are aware of life. Everything we see and feel is connected.

Always focus on mindfulness, to know how to observe and recognise the presence of every feeling and thought that arises in us. If we want to know our own mind, there is only one way, to observe, reflect and be aware of ourselves. For the softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world. Being active and productive come from our mental clarity and progress from directing in our higher natures, which originate in the primal depths of ourselves and the universe.

To a mind that is still, the entire universe awaits. When we have inner wisdom and insight, we use our soul and eyes to touch the heart of things. For we are made by the same drops that we see in the great ocean. We value what is within the sphere of our understanding and realise how dependent we are on what is beyond it. When the mind is tranquil, it becomes a mirror of the universe and the reflection of all things. In the midst of darkness, we see the light of dawn, in the midst of silence, we alone hear harmony echoing from within our own souls.

For we are beings, in search of meaning. Every day we wake up with the gift of breath and the opportunity to really live with heart. To make the best use of what's in our power and take everything else as it happens. The strong are those who have the clearest sight of what is before them and go to meet it as it is. We are united by the same nature, the same emotions and the same visions. How immense are the hardships we all face to obtain strength to carry on our path.

Always believe that life is worth living, and our belief and what we create will make our life better. If a thing consists of love, it will forever be eternal. What we have now was once only imagined, as the path of freedom leads us all to the shores of light and the ocean of depth. Everything we say will echo into another day, everything we feel is a mirror of what is real, everything we'll ever do will shine through.

May our back always be to the winds and our face to the sun, and may the wings of freedom open our eyes to better days ahead. Everyone needs what nature gives, when nature gives it and allows us to grasp it all in its own time. When facing anything in life, realise that whatever it may be, it is happening now and the chance for progress and growth is always alive, for things to change, always happen on the events of a single day. Adversity makes us all remember a thing called strength.

In our way of life, we reveal what kind of people we are. We are on this earth to live, in this little space that may open our hearts and eyes to see and feel, to live and give, to grasp the beams of love and goodness while we still can. There's only one place of the universe we can be certain of improving and discovering and that's our own self. Life is nothing until it is truly lived, for it is ours to make sense of and the meaning of it is nothing other than what we all choose.

Strength and love are often eclipsed but never vanish, as the tribulations of life come and go, much like the passing clouds, but behind it all, is the same sky with the same colours of life we've always known. The more we take the time, the more we see the truth in our lives and what matters to us all. It is not always easy for us to witness the struggles, pain and hardships in our life, but at the end of it all perhaps, we come to know more about ourselves and what's within our own souls.

The things that nature denies to human sight, are revealed to the eyes of the soul. The main understanding is that peace is found in the depth and quality of our relationship with ourselves. Our destiny, whatever it is to be, will be overcome by patience and time. Whatever may happen, never yield to obstacles, but advance more strongly with wisdom and courage to meet them, as our heart lets us. The safest hope is in our character and in what we give to life. It is always in season for all of us to live and learn until our dying days.

Look into life and into others as though into a mirror, as a reflection. Diversity and adversity reminds us all of our own strength and courage to keep going and to keep living. The real power behind whatever success we have now was something we once found within ourselves, that spark inside of us all, the inner flame of change, something that's in all of us. In our dreams and our way of life, a little piece of beauty is just waiting to be discovered, everyday. There is nothing permanent except change.

The beginning of reflection, an awareness of one’s own mental fitness and purity. To adapt ourselves to the life we live and truly love the present with what destiny has surrounded us with. Everyone gets one life, use it wisely and live with meaning and feeling. Before long, nature, which controls it all, will alter everything we see and use it as material for something else time and time again, so that the world is continually renewed. All things are changing and we ourselves are in continuous change with the universal cycle.

Everything in our lives is formed by nature to change for that is the cycle of life. Always look for the best and be prepared for the opposite, as anything can happen in life at any given time. The universal way of life and changes are nothing but different expressions of a common underlying principle. For just because a thing seems difficult, never think it impossible for anyone to accomplish with time and with effort. Those with strong mental dispositions can tolerate the extremes and hardships, as they have experience with life itself.

There are two kinds of light, the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures. Be the light that illuminates others and help them shine from inside their hearts, that's where the love is. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions, so we have to know how to think, how to act, how to be as well as being ourselves truthfully. We are responsible for who we are and what we will do.

In whatever good we do, we must direct our focus and energies to it, so that it shall bloom and be in harmony. We should discipline ourselves in the small things, and from there, progress to things of greater value. Never waste what remains of our life by focusing on things that will not matter in our future. A wise being is to live each day with honesty, courage, freedom, compassion, love and with strength. Remember this, that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life.

A person's worth is measured by the worth of what they value. Look well into our self, for there is the source of love, strength, meaning and courage which will always be there when we seek. The universe is full of beautiful things, patiently waiting for us to discover them, all in our own time. The bloom of our brief life flies far away, while we are calling for peace and harmony, old age is upon us, the truth of happiness is freedom, and that of freedom, courage. To express the most difficult matters clearly and intelligently is to shine through like a ray of light from the sun.

Everyone's life is lived within the present, for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain. To understand the true quality of people, we must look into their heart and mind, and examine their dreams and way of life. A person's life is coloured by their values, actions and way of life. What doesn't transmit light creates its own darkness. For our days are numbered with the sun and moon, use them to open the windows of our soul to the sun, if we do not, the sun will soon set, and us with it.

Let our heart be like the oceans waves, with a flowing depth, dissolved as they wash ashore and form again by the winds of change. We must feel the darkness to give the light, to truly be ourselves freely and live our lives. To flow with life as it will and stay real by accepting things as they are, let all things in nature take their course. As pure as water, it is clear and tranquil when there is stillness on the surface and when there is depth in the heart of its nature. Realise that the essence of our being is the same form as the mountains, rivers, the earth, the sun, the moon and stars.

In the realm of solitude, days of darkness and nights of light, thoughts that morph and celestial skies. A glance of clarity for whom the sun of the human nature is temporarily eclipsed. There are signs that we have gone farther, higher to the depths, like a flower in growth. In all this clarity, we begin to observe, perceive everything as it is and we realise the real meaning of reflection, to see a glimpse of our own shadow in the light of the dark, like bright colours of our eyes looking out into the world only to realise we are looking deep within ourselves.

Reflect on everything in nature, a flower for instance, give it enough light, nutrition and air that it needs so it can grow. People can flourish and grow too, though unlike nature, we make choices for ourselves, we decide what we want to do and be. A person’s entire life consists of nothing more than one moment piled on top of another, over and over again. Everything flows and nothing stays the same. Reflect on how all things change and constantly attend to its cycle.

We must have depth in our heart to embrace all of the colours of life and to come alive. To become again like the spark that ignites the flame and the drop that deepens the ocean to our being. Realise that the sun will always rise at sunrise, the stars will always be there in the sky, the moon will be the shining light of twilight and love will always be born and remain from inside. In our heart are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from us.

When we arise in the morning, reflect on all the good that is in our life and all we can make better, in our way of thinking, in our actions and in how we live each day. Dwell on the beauty of life, the gifts from nature and the seeds of beauty that are born in our heart.

#reflection #nature #ethics #awareness #discipline #freedom #creativity #love #passion #acceptance #patrick graven

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patrick-graven · 2 years

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Moralis Atque Natura Humana

On Living A Good Life ~

In every living thing in nature, each has the potential to live well, each according to their own capacity. For human beings, the development of our perceptive, cognitive and how effective we are in the world to the development of the lesser in plants and animals is observable. For plants, a flourishing life is simply a matter of growth, nutrition and reproduction. For animals, living well involves perception, sociability and locomotion in their environment. As humans, we identify our happiness and living well with virtuous activity. The soul gives us the capability to do greater than other forms of life as our emotional repertoire enables us to achieve a life of greater depth, happiness and meaning than what is obtainable to animals and plants. To make full use of these potentialities, requires a long process of habituation, practical wisdom, development and learning. We should deliberate on what is most useful for all living things, living for one's improvement and benefit, the flourishing of one’s natural faculties.

Everyone's life has a purpose and the function of one's life is to attain that purpose as the end. The purpose of one's life is human flourishing and happiness that can be achieved by reason and obtaining virtue. To flourish and achieve happiness, we must have a clear understanding of the highest good towards which our life aims, each human being should use their abilities to their absolute fullest potential and should obtain happiness, health and enjoyment through the exercise of their capacities. Human achievements are endowed by purpose and personal autonomy and everyone should take pride in excelling in what they do. Everyone has a natural desire to pursue moral excellence and purpose through action. The proper function of every human being is to live well and this is done through the exercise of one's capacity. Human flourishing is the highest good of aspirations and that toward which all actions aim.

Happiness consists of human flourishing and can be viewed as the condition of living right. To flourish and to be happy involves one being virtuous. People enjoy the exercise of their realised capacities and this enjoyment increases the more that their capacities are realised. Values, reason and emotions help a person to identify what motivates them to act. A virtuous person has a cognitive disposition, which they act to gain what is actually of value to their life. Living a life of virtue is needed for one’s purpose and one’s purpose is a necessity for one’s happiness. The good is what is good for purposeful entities, the activities in which the life functions are most fully realised. A person's nature provides them with the guidance to how they should live their best life, capable of acting according to principles, taking responsibility for their choices and actions that follow. The highest human good consists of good human functioning and that is parallel to the good exercise of the faculty of reason.

A human being’s flourishing requires the use of their individual human potential including their virtues and abilities in the pursuit of their chosen goals and values. Every action a person does is only proper if it leads to the flourishing of the person performing it, and as a result, their flourishing leads to their happiness. What is significant is how each individual manages their own scope of potentialities rather than their past tendencies. Everyone should have the greatest chance to choose their own way of life in accordance to each of their desires and decisions made by them. A good life is one in which a person develops their own strengths in terms of development, realises their own potential and to pursue who they desire to become. The pursuit of happiness is something personal and real for everyone, it is a goal that continues to the end of life with new opportunities that arise along the way and is liberated and directed through the use of reason. This activity must occupy a complete lifetime.

Virtue As A Disposition ~

The virtuous life is a matter of trying to determine the kind of people we should be and to attend to the development of character within ourselves and the world we live in. The virtues are the essence of our character and our character determine our destiny. The two kinds of virtues are the intellectual and the moral. The intellectual virtues include wisdom, intelligence, prudence, rationality, intuition and reason, and are acquired by inheritance and education and can be taught formally, they involve the knowledge and the understanding of causes and ends. The moral virtues include courage, liberality, magnificence, honour, truthfulness and friendship, and can only acquired through practice, habit and experience, they involve acquiring habits of character and have to do with the appropriate management of emotions. A person who has developed virtues will be naturally disposed to act in ways that are consistent with moral principles.

Virtues are states of character that find expression both in purpose and in action. They are developed and strengthened through experience and intelligent habits, moral virtue is expressed in good purpose, moral excellence. It is not adequate to just know the proper thing to do, one must also have a strong desire to do it and actually act on it. A virtuous action is much more than being composed and disciplined, it involves the person taking pleasure in the activity that they do. The virtuous person experiences the virtuous action as a harmonious expression of their character including their emotion and reasoning. One’s virtues are fragments of their good qualities, they are not inborn but acquired by practice and lost by neglect. Virtue is determined by the right reason and virtuous action is the result of successful practical reasoning. Our virtues play an essential role in living a good way of life.

The concept of moral responsibility is foundational to ethics, because people should take certain actions and those actions require a choice which determines the action taken, for which they are responsible for. The main answer to how moral responsibility emerge is the freedom of our will as our actions are voluntary with reason behind them, rather than solely a product of instinct. The concept of choice arises as voluntary, something that we consciously choose to do and is an integral part of our moral responsibility, since it is involves the human capacity to deliberate. Human beings must deliberate about which action to take when our habits that we have formed do not clearly apply. Through deliberation, we deliberate about things that can be done that are in our power by what means the desired result is to obtained. The action involved in choice is our deliberate desire, as in order to have chosen a course of action we must have a desire for it.

We ourselves are responsible for our states of character, as habits and states of character emerge from the repetition of certain types of action. Since all individuals are rational, each individual is responsible for the deliberation that leads to their choices. The act of deliberation is under volitional containment and gives rise to the notion of moral responsibility. As we develop over time, we gradually obtain the capacity to deliberate about the best means to achieve a certain desire. In fact, such deliberation becomes absolutely necessary for life and happiness as we develop and our needs expand. Consequently, moral responsibility emerges from the necessity of deliberation in order to achieve happiness. As deliberation gives rise to choice and because choice ultimately contours states of character. A person should be more concerned with their fitness to achieve their desires than with the attainment of the desires themselves. A person needs to pursue rational efforts in pursuing the good and in taking control of their own life.

The Sphere Of Ethics ~

Our ethical insight and knowledge is grounded in our human nature. As human beings, we have a nature that rules how we act, the refinement of our nature is our end. In essence, we are directed to our moral development and personal enrichment by improving ourselves. The end and meaning of our life is to live rationally and to develop both the moral and intellectual virtues, the fundamental attributes to our human nature, the development of which leads to our flourishing. Our human flourishing is always distinguished and there is an indivisible association between our interest in ourselves and virtue. The virtuous person continuously uses practical wisdom in the pursuit of the good life. We desire and need to gain a knowledge of virtue in order to become virtuous, moral and content. The contrast of a good person is to take pleasure in moral action as flourishing transpires when a person is doing what they should do and what they want to do. We receive our capacities from nature but nature does not cause us to develop into a good people. Since virtues are not capacities, they belong to the genus known as dispositions.

Understanding and practical wisdom operate in the same area even though they are different things. Theoretical wisdom is the knowledge of the things that don't ever change, things that are the highest by nature. Practical wisdom gives instruction, since its aim is to tell us what we should and shouldn't do, and understanding intervenes on these kind of instructions. Practical wisdom is the result of experience, but good sense is an inborn attribute, just as our natural intellect can develop into theoretical wisdom, our natural good sense can develop into practical wisdom. While virtue makes us choose the right ends, practical wisdom makes us choose the right means. As practical wisdom involves moral virtue, moral virtue involves practical wisdom and it is impossible to develop moral virtue without the profound training in practical wisdom. It enables us to choose the right means for achieving the right ends as decided by virtue. A person with practical wisdom controls their natural and instinctive impulses and takes control of their own life to the highest good with a balanced development of their moral character.

As an ethical approach, we must investigate the nature of virtue and learn through experience to discover, consider for ourselves and determine the particulars of the conditions of every situation. People acquire virtues through practice and that a set of existing virtues can lead us toward our natural excellence. Matters of conduct are not only found in dealing with particular cases of conduct, but also with respect to the general ethical theory. Everyone has a natural capacity for good character and this capacity is developed through practice, our character is the structure of habits and is produced by what we do. States of character are connected to the process of habituation as neither can they be taught nor do they naturally exist in us. Intellectual virtue is a process in which it owes its creation and its growth to teaching, for it is a matter of obtaining knowledge and using our mind in the right way. Those states of character which form moral virtue need the proper mental, emotional, and physical activity, they involve deliberating in the right way, feeling pleasure in virtuous action and performing the virtuous action.

States of character have two significant attributes, those existing by nature and those existing by choice. The natural attributes obtain the potentiality and later manifest the activity, while in the case of those identified by choice, we acquire them by exercising them. The faculties of our senses, by which help us understand and perceive the world around us, exist by nature. As soon as we develop and acquire the potentiality for such activity, the activity naturally follows, we do not have to practice hearing in order to hear or practice seeing in order to see. Contrarily, learning to walk is an activity characterised by choice, for it is not naturally accomplished once a certain level of physical development has been attained. We learn to walk by actually practicing walking and repeating the whole process of it over and over again until the action becomes a second nature to us. As virtue is distinguished by choice, it as an action that we learn by doing. Virtue does not naturally occur within us, as our senses do, but rather a state of character we can develop only by exercising it over time.

The Virtue Of Magnanimity ~

Greatness of soul, is the heart of the virtue that is magnanimity. It is an essential virtue for every human being who desires to do great in their lives. The magnanimous person pursues greatness in proportion to their ability, has attitude of benevolence and takes delight in doing great deeds. Such a person attempts and achieves great things because they are appropriate expressions of the excellence that they possess. The magnanimous person is the greatest in each virtue. It is a sort of crowning ornament to the virtues, for it makes them greater, and it does not arise without them. It is impossible to be magnanimous without being noble and good. The magnanimous person is distinguished by their actions and attitude towards what comes their way. The right concern with one's own worth involves not only grasping it but valuing it and the desire to fulfill its complete potential. The magnanimous person's concern for great things is more immense than a concern to obtain external goods, more importantly, they are more concerned with aiming at excellent action and are worthy of respect and honour.

The area of courage is an important aspect of life. It governs only situations involving both fear and confidence. To be courageous, one must choose and act rightly. The person of courage acts courageously in the right manner at the right time, endures for the right purpose with the right motivation. The right reason is that courageous acts are conducted with their aim on the correct purpose, the final cause. We praise the courageous person because they are able to endure pain, not because they control themselves from the pleasurable, but because the first is more difficult. The virtuous person performs virtuous acts that are motivated by good desires without any inner conflict. Courage has more to do with fearful things than bold things, although of course it involves both. The courageous person feels fear but their fear does not push them toward cowardly acts, their fear pushes them toward courageous acts. Every activity aims at the end that corresponds to the disposition of which it manifests. For a thing is defined by its end, the courageous person performs actions that manifest courage for the sake of that which is noble.

Magnanimity is a virtue that belongs to great people, and if one is great, then one must be good and completely virtuous. It is a supervening attribute that occurs as a consequence of one achieving a completely virtuous character. The supervening attribute seems to have complementary powers to the extent that it adds something more to a person’s character, and it makes the virtues that gave it birth even more magnificent. The perfect virtue of courage takes on another and superior level of excellence and the same is true for all of the other virtues. The magnanimous person is one who is aware of the excellence that they embody. The good life for human beings is the life of virtue and therefore it is in our interest to be virtuous. In all things, the great souled person is dignified, self aware, courageous, strong, calm and acts only on matters involving great significance. Virtue, honour and self awareness support them from most of what individuals of lesser virtue undergo in their lives. Magnanimity belongs to the completely virtuous person who knows well who they are and their greatness.

It is a guiding principle of the moral virtues. The practical wisdom of magnanimity leads the moral virtues to a beautiful ordering and as it is a source of value for the moral virtues, it makes them greater. The moral virtues are intermediary states that can be expressed at any given moment, magnanimity appears to be the excellence of the soul that is created over time. As the characteristic of our life that gives guidance and value to the moral virtues, as well as it leads us to the highest good, magnanimity is not only worthy of honour, but is the most worthy of honour. To be magnanimous, we must properly understand what we are worthy of and must have the right attitude to our deserved honour. The magnanimous person, is a distinctive individual that is identified by both supreme greatness and moral goodness, bestowing upon them nobility and honour respectively. The dynamic element of magnanimity is our enlightened consideration of self and in possessing true understanding of our own greatness. Human beings can obtain magnanimity as an end of the moral virtues.

Human Nature And Flourishing ~

Human beings are a unique species who have the ability to establish their cognition, to select and to direct their actions and to create distinctive ways of living. It is in the nature of every human being to have a directional process of self development, conscious striving for their personal endeavours. Human nature entails the individuality of each human being, and because all individual human beings are individualised, each person needs to live in a harmonious way with the individual being that they are. Human nature places the framework of human flourishing, as individual human flourishing is diverse and personal. The virtues initiate direction for our human flourishing but the determination of what kind of flourishing is most desirable for each person requires much consideration of what is distinctive to each individual. Morality is embedded in the nature of rationality. Human choice has the innate potential for human flourishing, the choice to live is a rational choice because of what is the ultimate end for each human being. The proper understanding of our flourishing depends upon our capabilities, our desires, our choices, our interests, circumstances and our biological nature.

Each person must identify the things that are potentially valuable to them and they must take appropriate actions to pursue those things. All of a human beings circumstances and conditions are things for their rationality to consider and to work on as they pursue to live a good life. As well to providing the means to maintain our life, moral values also make our life worth living. The good with respect to our human actions is the fact that they are contributive to our self interest and there is a close relationship between our effective functionings and our well being. It is significant to develop our potential by engaging in meaningful pursuits that are in harmony with our values. Voluntary activities present immense opportunities for increasing our happiness. When the work we do involves rational activity, it can be seen as an ingredient of happiness. A happy person is one who knows that what they have earned is an appropriate reward for their efforts, creations and achievements. Happiness has an intrinsic bond with one’s life as a whole. A human being attains happiness to the degree that their potentialities and their capabilities are rationally utilised over their whole lifetime.

Good action is a substantial part of our happiness and the most flourishing life is a life that includes contemplative activity. Actions should express correct reason and avoid inadequacy. As good human beings, we make the choices that are beneficial and fine to us. When the occasions arise, we are courageous, truthful, generous, innovative, temperate, friendly and magnanimous in the right moments. Pleasure is good for guiding us in moral action, as we desire pleasure for life and life for pleasure. Reason guides the virtuous person, for our life is choice worthy, only a certain kind of life is worth living. The virtues are those states which inspire activities which work out best for ourselves. The intelligent person knows what is good for them, that person is flourishing because of the types of things they do and the ways they do them, they act in accordance with reason and chooses what is expedient. Virtuous actions are the actions that make something that is already choice worthy, even greater, and since pleasure and life are coherent, virtuous actions lead to our pleasure in the result that they bring. We find by reason and by empirical means what is virtuous and how to achieve happiness in our lives.

A good life is a life devoted to the expression of qualities of virtue and passion that exhibit meaning in our lives. The state of our character depends upon the practicing of good actions that in turn actually make us good people. Each individual acts when they are motivated to do so. For a human being, thinking and free will are involved in the action process. Our human nature shows us that we have needs and these needs are the commencement of the motivation pattern and they have a biological foundation. Our values emerge out of the relationship between ourselves and what we require for our well being. A flourishing life depends upon the evaluation and attainment of our values. Our prime moral commitment and interest is to attain our mature state as a flourishing human being. Meraki is the labour of love, to do something with real passion, with absolute devotion and is done with all our heart, the essence of ourselves that is put into what we choose to do and how we live our life.

#philosophy #mindfulness #reflection #awareness #insight #solitude #patience #discipline #ethics #morals #patrick graven

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patrick-graven · 4 years

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Reflections Of The Soul

To see the world is to feel from inside, To give birth to beauty is to be alive, To understand and feel from the depths of our soul, To make a difference to this world. To fly with freedom to give others sight, To feel others pain and express it into light, To inhale it all inside one breath, And exhale everything we've ever felt.

The rising of the sun, A life up to us to be at peace, Under the stars we are all as one, Living the same as the fallen leaves. Heartbeats full of depth, Life in every breath, Beauty that blooms in our hearts, An infinite love that never parts. For another day we live by, We grow and bloom within our souls, Times when moments soon drift across the sky, Feeling and giving our light to the world.

Life is the light by which our spirit’s born, As waves dissolve upon these shores, Up towards the sky with light in our eyes, Dreaming away as these thoughts arise. The glory of new things to come, The essence of all you will achieve, The purity of all you will become, When you look within and believe. Calling for peace and harmony, Within ourselves a love to see, With depths that remain in our hearts, An eternal sunshine that never parts.

There is only one moment for eternity, One drop that deepens the ocean, One spark that ignites the flame, One sun to awaken our emotions. The winds of time passes by, Rivers flow and wings take flight, From depths that stay behind closed eyes, Far from here as clouds pass by. Time moves like the waves that still wash ashore, Colliding all that has come and gone before, And before the leaves have fallen from where they derive, Realise that everything changes and everything revives.

Of everything we see and all we are feeling, All we have here is our inner being, The changes of our lives and all the reasons, Are the shifts and reflections of all the seasons. It is right that we should be so, To feel alive and to grow, And all of this we rightly know, Through this world we safely go. As each day passes us all by, It paints a picture of colours across the sky, With every memory washed away from our eyes, We live in this moment that lasts a lifetime. Every night and every morn, All things new and pure are born, Our essence of beauty is worth more, Than all the waves that wash ashore.

In the aura of our soul, Lives a beauty that grows, In the depths of all we see, Remains a clear tranquillity. We feel beyond the deep, We dream beyond the sea, Out towards the distant galaxies, Reflecting all of our reality. We are infinite beings, Our hearts full of feeling, We have come from afar, For we are the essence of stars. Far past these walls, A universe that awaits us all, There is a new light, That stays within our sight.

With beautiful depths of everyone, Grew leaves bereft of thorns, They are open star lights as our sun, A sign of earth reborn. All we have is this space between the poles, As the stars shine with sense renewed, Beauty is seen again as petals unfold, A light that found a way to shine through. The ocean surged and dissolved in waves, Sands are scattered into the winds of time, Dreams ashore in the light of day, A sense of change with the passing skies. The flowers long for a garden bed, All hatched through broken cracks, The innocence of nature spread, As hope does not look back.

For a fallen leaf becomes alive in the winds of change, A drop of beauty deepens the ocean, A garden of beauty that blooms inside our hearts, With changes in our emotions. The leaves are on the ground, The seasons are changing as one, Blue skies turning into twilight, Before new rays of light are born from the sun. The wind is blowing against the trees, And the moon shines forth with its glow, Even your own light never to be extinguished, Through life and all its growth. As the clouds are drifting by, Years of light begin to dawn, Changing like the trees and rivers, The stream of life flows on.

It is the wonders that fill our minds, From outside our world to all inside that lives, In essence we are content to find, Beauty in all the little things. In all that we see and all that we do, Myriads of stars and worlds may be, It is our own inner light that shines through, And guides us all to our destiny. In an astral place of all that grows, A distant star may be another world's sun, We live in presence of what we know, For our world is not the only one.

As we feel the presence of our inner light, Clearing the clouds of our darkest night, We raise our eyes up to the sky, And unfurl our flowered wings to fly. Entwined together in a spiral love, Unifying as one as we rise above, Embracing our darkness and our lunar glows, For we have got stars within our souls. Soul washed in all of life's forms, Through the calm sunshine and melancholic storms, A beauty that is born from every living day, That mirrors a light that will never fade.

The moon within the sky, Shining in a solace light, Evanescent with millions of stars, Before the cycle of venus and mars. Still as pillars in our time, Subdued under the arc of twilight, We gaze towards the sombre shade, We embrace a beauty the sun has made. The moon glows in an omniscient twilight, Amidst in the darkness from our sight, Lunar tides wash ashore in our oceans, Images drift by fast in motion. Our spirits of solace with hearts to repair, Intertwining with every feeling shared, Between the morning stars and the shining moon, A beauty rises in bloom.

The winds of change will blow onto your face, To the changes of the sunrise, Find your way out of the dark, It is the passage of your heart. Before the leaves will be taken away, By the rain and winds of change, Ignite the candle of beauty from within, To shine a light that will always remain. I am you and you are me, A reflection is what you see, Our eyes mirrored by each other, As the sky is to the sea. We flourish like a garden of beauty, A sea with depths rising for eternity, Close your eyes and you will find, A shining light from deep inside.

Awakening in every day, Taken by the sunlight, The sun keeps on shining in different ways, Even as darkness changes to twilight. Let go and just be, Open your eyes and begin to see, Watch everyday become a dream, Release yourself and become free. This life has meaning, More precious than silver and gold, The only truth of this, Is the beauty and love within our soul.

Time leaves a memory in your heart that no one can feel, Pain leaves a heartache that no one can heal, Beauty leaves a touch that will always remain real, Our eyes leaves an essence of what is concealed. In love from a memory, Echoing from another time, Shared between our reveries, Our heartbeats entwined. These emotions that we feel, Of everything inside that is real, A fallen teardrop that remains in our soul, Becomes an ocean to the world.

For the light that shines forever, Eternally alive in our nature, We see oceans in the eyes, With every teardrop that reflects a sunrise. The stars reflect on majestic lakes, Colours change from the birth of light, Their infernal beauty carries on into eternity, Blending in waves in ecstasy. So many seasons have passed that still remain, They will someday come alive in different skies, Our world will remain the same, And tomorrow we will have dreamed away in another time.

To share that love from our soul, Forever to hold your dreams in place, Sharing all our heartbeats of the world, Through the beauty of nature's tranquil grace. Another day to feel alive, To feel the essence of change arriving, Born out of new colours from sunrise, On the wings of dreams into distant horizons.

Our ageless eyes are distant mirrors, Shaping and beautifying the world by their reflection. The edge of forever, Becoming a world that deepens, Fading into oblivion, Changing as the birth of seasons. Unfolding in the light of our eyes, Our own galaxy in disguise, Time spinning in between shadows and rays of light, In bloom with the distant twilight. Where new colours are born, A universal love is formed, Where the heart and mind have remained, The journeys of our soul that never end.

Scattered across starlit skies, Accompanied by heartfelt sighs, It all falls like the gentle rain, Reflecting the moment of all our pain. Every tear from every eye, Becomes another drop from the sky, This is grasped by mirrors bright, And return to its own delight. Changing winds beneath the moonlit sky, Lost under stars of the night, Seek my soul within the seasons' breeze, For you will find us together amongst the sun and sea.

It is when beauty arrives, To wake us up and come alive, Guide our eyes to the sky, To look within and we will shine. Keep the flame of hope burning bright, To see our inner light come to life, And then the winds blow and we begin to breathe, To hold that moment that never leaves. Seek the beauty within the world, Grasp the life we hold deep inside, Embrace everything from our soul, Until we reflect the light from our eyes.

Times of wonder takes us to times long gone, Memories filled with hope that once smiled upon, When our hearts were alive and the sunrise would follow, Hoping the day would never end to bring another tomorrow. And then from afar came absence and neglect, Our feelings dissolved and thoughts misled, This world has now turned into layers of grey, And its light has faded leading every path astray, As our time remains still our emotions keep flowing, To keep that flame of light in our hearts forever glowing.

Destined to find our way, Will make us live only for today, Guiding the path for beauty to follow, To leave behind the pain and hold the hopes of tomorrow. And the rain keeps on falling, Pouring down from the sky, Washing our footsteps from the shores of time, Leaving no trace behind. Night falls and dawn breaks once again, The seasons changing all the same, And all these moments for us to see, Are just a reflection of you and me.

Ashore on the sands of memory, An hourglass that trickles time endlessly, Chasing echoes from beyond the horizon, The moon vanishes while the sun is rising. In this realm we are to be, At peace with the pure sky and open sea, Nature's beauty with its peaks and streams, Awakening in the light of a dream. The dawn of light with colours blending, Time and its changes with seasons unending, In an ocean between waves, Our world in motion day after day.

Beauty is the light in the darkness, A pearl in the depths of the ocean, The eternal feeling within your heart, Our emotions in still motion. We wonder where this moment goes, In the wind and where it flows, With every known emotion, Gives only divine devotion. To the ever changing pull, Of the moon and tide, The seasons that you go through, The colours that remain in your eyes.

Gazing at the sky with opened eyes, Breathing in while we gaze towards the sky, We drift away from where we are, Towards the passing clouds and things afar. Into the blue of the ocean without end, And the ever changing sky with all colours that blend. As seasons change, The suns rays morph into the sky, Distant stars flicker like diamonds, So that they turn into jewels of the night. The earthly leaves fall to the ground, Someday they will come back to life beneath a radiant sky, And even though our world will remain the same, Tomorrow we all will carry on living our lives.

All the time that we have to shine, United as one with endless tides, With unifying hearts and reflected eyes, We will live on and have our time. Far upon the distant skies, Always gazing into our hearts, We are the darkness and we are the light, For we are the glitter of the stars. Bring forth the shores of the sun, Living out from the shadows of the dark, For we are light and dark together as one, From stars light reflecting back into our hearts.

Who are you but my reflection, For your sky is my ocean, Who are you but me, A mirror of myself through which I see. We are the world looking outside, The universe looking within, Its vision of light, Its soul united. And if there was no distant path to be, A heart to see me through, A vision deep inside that I see, These eyes are just mirrors of you. As long as nature reveals the signs, Find the meaning in your life, See through your own eyes, The waves will lead you towards your light.

Drifting in emotions of what we feel to be, Wandering through the labyrinths of dreams enticed by beauty, Flowing in havens fulfilled for eternity, In depths of the ocean with a sky filled with mystery. Rising to our heights as we go above, We flow in the open sea, Nothing here concerns us only love, Because we are lovers washed ashore from our innermost dreams.

When everything has become calm and still, Far from the moon to the sun, A longing feeling begins to fill, Understanding and feeling as one. In our dreams and lives dwell, The eternal and divine, Reflections of all that we impel, The timeless and all the sublime. On the surface we all shine, Rays of light shine from the depth of our eyes, Relinquishing one another in time, Undying flames remain inside.

The light gives life to the colours of change, Blending into one that remain the same, Adorning the blue stained sky, Dreams reign high while clouds entwine. And the depths of the ocean below, Reflects our tears through rain and snow, Crystallised in the blink of our eyes, A momentary glimmer of the radiant light. Stars awaken as we look above, And pain slowly fades to love, Reawakened as we morph to dust, And dissolve in all that is and ever was.

Here we find in our voices rhyme, Within this ocean of time, And all of this we feel and see, Is a new dawn to be. Through this world that we live, An ocean rising from deep within, A sparkle of light in our eyes, Mirrored as a veil of stars in the sky. We reflect the colours from within our eyes, A new dawn soon rises, Spiraling through our hearts, A beauty of emotions that will never part.

In the deepest well of dreams, Echoes a distant time, From memories and endless streams, As we lapse into the night. The light of sun and twilight will fade, And moon covers its face, Stars sparkle their memory in the darkling sky, And the world will change from our sight. Reflections that we see in all we do, As we follow our depths as time heals our scars, Through clouds the sky is painted midnight blue, From darkness we stepped onto the path of stars.

We try to guide each other across, To reveal the only thing that has been lost, Our feelings unique in a natural perfection, A vision of light to our reflections. Our emotions dissolve within our tears, Leaving behind all those dark years, Colours fade but the spectrum remains here, To blend a light that will never disappear. Dreaming far away from here, In a place where everything is near, Our mirrored souls rest in place, Universal love and eternal grace.

We reveal of what is inside, Within the lineaments of our soul, A beauty mirrored from our eyes, It is a teardrop filled with the world. Beauty is the essence of the heart, As love is expressed into an art, A light that is born that guides us home, A dream that dawns of all we've known. A birth that is born again, A commencing where all become still, A starting where we stopped to rest, A momentary time that we fulfill.

Everyday that it takes to feel alive, Believing in our hearts that there is a way, All we need is to shine from the inside, And embrace the meaning of our living grace. Our souls move as the breeze, A strong current in rapture of the waves, We make our way through boundless space, And fly far away from this place. Purifying in the celestial air, Inhale the earth of these limpid regions, Nourish everything in all that we care, In bloom with the changing seasons.

We voyage through the journeys of our soul, Living in our own world, Feeling the meaning of everything nourishing, A momentary beauty flowing and flourishing. We see an ocean filled with mystery up to the horizon, Filled with depths with a new dawn rising, We voyage among our lives of havens fulfilled in infinity, As waves drifting through the sea fulfilled for eternity. The light broadens perspectives that bloom in time, A place where our enlightened hearts never dies, We see each other in new colours of life, Filled with beauty that comes alive.

Listen as the wind blows from beyond the horizon, Hopes spread into the light and memories are dissolved in time, The nights are filled with wonder, And a new dawn begins to rise. Into the night we wander, Into the day forever after, The longing for something real, All to change this feeling that we feel. Drenched in an ocean of our own emotions, Everything passing in fast motion, Another day as it seems, In the sea of waking dreams.

From the sun there are rays of light, Shining through these distant shores, Night wraps us in our twilight, And darkness leads us to the stars. The seasons brought us together, Entwined by the wind and the fire, Our inner light shining forever, An ageless beauty within our desires. Our fire could not be tamed with the wind, And the wind couldn't be suppressed by the flames, As the connection of the light with the dark that blend, Led to a light that would forever remain.

In the iris of the eye, Teardrops become oceans, The light of the soul shines, The beauty flows in motion. A moment of stillness, Dawn with colours blending, A spectrum of fluoresce, Eternal cycle with seasons changing. On the shores of memory, Echoing beyond the horizon, Galaxies apart in infinity, A sun from another world is rising. Cosmic stars awake in our dreams, Universal light shines, Our imagination unseen, In the waking twilight.

The light shines in our world, Turning the dark into a radiant blue, The sky passes our souls, The twilight that impulses us through. Our oceans begin to rise, The ripples of waves move to the inner vibration, Every living thought and emotion, One within all without any division. Our eyes raise up towards the sky, To bring the light into darkness from above, Our entwined penetrating tides, Following the sun our two rivers form one unified love.

We are nature and the rays of light, Full of hope and changing as the seasons, Which breathes and lives as a thousand stars shine, Like birds that take flight into the winds of freedom. Since our first breath and our first dawn, With a rising depth and an infinite desire, Together we voyage from where we are from, To this marvelous beauty that is our inner fire. Together we are the eyes and the inner soul, In this immense beauty forever alive, We sheltered all our dreams in our world, And its sunshine for we are its mirrored light. To see forth the light of the sun, And to understand we are as one, We will gaze at the evening stars, And feel them in our hearts.

To hear the unsaid thoughts, The silence through the storm, Emotions spoken without the words, Freedom like an unbound bird. All these days change us all from inside, Our pain will fade away to afar, Far away from us and from our time, It will go to meet the stars. These natural emotions within us all, Moments that came that never faded away, Memories from times when our heartbeats called, All of our troubles replaced day by day. Eternal with depth and resembling a calm sea, Deep in our soul there remains a deep sight, Year after year the same colours in all we see, For we are the beauty that reflects the light.

Only the blue sky for us to see, Go on forever in this world, Where seconds feel like eternity, And years pass like a teardrop in our soul. As will the sun bathe the land, With all its warming light, So shall the moon ascend, To brighten the black night. The light of sun and stars will fade, And moon covers its face, Dreaming of tranquil days, Moments never to be replaced. The star of the morning dawn, Entwining with the day and night, Fills the memories of days long gone, And blends into the colours of the twilight. Underneath the blanket of stars, Embraced by the darkness of night, As we are here together from afar, And leave all our pain behind.

These are our waking hours, Towards the horizon our thoughts stray, And beauty in the here and now, Until following yet another hopeful day. Solace we find in the light of the sun, And comfort in the night under the full moon, Now we set forth and voyage as one, And make our own way into tomorrows noon. Far above our earthly world, Dreaming from here to afar, Deep within the core of our soul, Sleeping amidst the light of stars. May the stars become our eyes, And the sunlight become our calling, Let nature guide us through life, From every night into the mornings.

To see a universe in every tear, Reflecting all of our living years, Awakening in every day, Our sun shines on in different ways. In the cosmos the galaxies are born in time, A crimson sunrise spiraling from the divine, The fusion of forces expanding and pulling it all closer, In an orbit of the enigma of all its solar. Now our teardrops prevail into an infinite ocean, As all of our colours blend within our own emotions, Amber fields grow beauty with our inner desire, A touch of love that begins to transpire.

From the chasms of our minds, Where hopes and dreams may be as one, We look into the deep beyond, And catch a glimpse of the sun. When we move towards the celestial light, Warmth confronts all of us when we arrive, Angels and doves greet all at the pearly gates, Surrounded by those who've cared with love that will never be replaced. Shadows from the morning mist, Colours born over the hills, Echoes in the changing light, These earthly signs that remain still.

The falcons fly high in the starry night sky, As we lie awake in our dreams each night, Pointing to one bright star with our fingers, And leading and forming to shape our life better. Time goes closer and nearer to the hearts of ours, And with the changes of life as the passing clouds, Most precious indeed as the gems of the sea, Wondering however how it all came to be.

Beyond the vast sorrows of the great oceans, That weigh upon our lives and obscure our emotions, Happy are they who can travel with vigorous wings, Soar up towards those fields luminous and serene. And to vanish away from everything unfair, And purify ourselves in the celestial air, Appreciate the ethereal fire of those limpid regions, As we would with the purest of heavenly seasons.

Beauty shines for beauty is light, To those souls who dwell in the darkness of twilight, And so a human becomes awake, To those who dwell in realms of day. They whose thoughts like skylarks way up high, Towards the morning dawn take flight in the skies, Who hovers over life and understands all with ease, They who live the language of the rivers and trees.

The darkness fades away from our eyes, The calling to return the nature of the earth, Baleful shadows gathering under the dark sky, Reversing the secrets of our natural birth. We still remember when we saw the light in our eyes, A radiant ray of hope the way we remember more, And although we've transposed over these changing times, After crossing the long fields of growth far from home.

Following the outline of the sea under the spring sky, Awakening from the shadows of our lucid dreams, A new dawn beckons in the vision of our light, And the waves morph across the immerse sea. The sands of our days stay covered in rhymes, Of moments lasted that make us stay awake, Footprints that came before us of what was left behind, The trail of promise that gives us a reason to stay.

Our pain washed away by the morning sun, From the realms above us we all climb, Our days turned into years together as one, A sense of new changes with the passing skies. Beyond the eternal sky of our distant dreams, Consumed to the heart by the deepest emotions, Unfurling our wings and our imagination unseen, Rising to the highest heights of our inner oceans.

Light is the path, In the absence of dark, From here to the end, To feel everything living from the start. We're the outline of the shadows, Opening light in a blink of an eye, We are the mirrors that live, Glimmers of hope against the dark sky. The moon on the sky's arch glowing, Made of twilight in the dusk fall, Let us grasp each ray of light, The dreams and life of it all.

Our lives become real when our dreams come alive, Darkness fades and transforms into light, As the sun and moon begin to entwine, Seasons change like the colours in the sky. The clouds descend and the oceans rise, When the twilight changes into a new sunrise, Stars begin to fade into celestial skies, This feeling that lives as days pass by.

#poetry #reflection #peace #nature #soul #Mindfulness #tranquility #seasons #change #patrick graven

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patrick-graven · 5 years

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The Essence Of Zen

The meaning and the essence of Zen is achieving enlightenment by seeing one's original nature. To be true to oneself and the thought of the moment. Other than continuing to exert yourself, enter into nothing else, but go to the extent of living single thought by single thought. It requires an intense discipline which, when practiced properly, results in total spontaneity and ultimate freedom. The path is made by living it. All that is happening is here in the present moment and the present is the only time to live.

The samurai, members of a powerful military caste in feudal Japan, began as warriors of each of their provinces before rising to power in the 12th century with the beginning of the country’s first military dictatorship, known as the shogun. As servants of the great lords, the samurai backed up the authority of the shogun and gave him power over the emperor. The samurai would dominate Japanese government and society until the Meiji Restoration. Despite being deprived of their traditional privileges, many of the samurai would enter the elite ranks of politics and industry in modern Japan. Bushido is found in life and death, one will always die, it's living that takes real courage.

Shogun was the name given to the title for a military general in ancient Japan during the Heian Period. The word "shogun" comes from the Japanese words "sho," meaning "commander," and "gun," meaning "troops." In the 12th century, the shoguns seized power from the Emperors of Japan and became the rulers of the country. Shoguns would rule Japan from their capital at Kamakura for nearly 150 years. Although emperors continued to exist and to hold spiritual power over the realm, it was the shoguns who actually ruled the lands of Japan.

Like most Japanese of their time, the samurai followed Buddhist religious teachings as well as the practices of Japan’s native belief system, Shinto. The main teachings of Buddhism, expounded in the Four Noble Truths preached by the Buddha, teach the origins of human suffering in desire, and offer hope of escape from suffering and the endless cycle of rebirth through pursuit of the noble eight fold path. The rest is a set of guidelines for living based on principles of ethical conduct, the cultivation of wisdom, and discipline.

Shinto is the native religion of Japan. Shinto means "the way of the gods" and is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself. It remains Japan's major religion alongside Buddhism. The word Shinto is a combination of two kanji characters, “shin”, meaning gods or spirits, and “tō” meaning way or path. There are no absolutes in Shinto as it is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits. "Shinto gods" are called "kami". They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life such as wind, rain, mountains, trees and rivers.

The religion of Shinto is a collection of rituals and methods to regulate the relations between living people and the spirits. The main theme in the Shinto religion is love and reverence for natural artifacts and processes. Things in nature come to be regarded as a spirit of that place, so might abstract things like growth. The principal worship of "kami" is done at public shrines, also known as "jinja". The Shinto ways of thinking have influenced Japanese society. Many famously Japanese practices have origins rooted in Shinto. The Shinto ideal of harmony with nature underlies such Japanese arts as flower arranging, which is known as "ikebana". Many Japanese customs have their origin in Shinto beliefs and practices.

Leading lives of great fragility, never knowing when death might strike, perhaps the samurai warriors needed faith in the Buddha Amitabha more than most. Pure Land monks accompanied samurai into battle in order to guide them in recitation of the name of the Buddha Amitabha, a prayer known as the "Nembutsu", should they succumb to wounds, and to pray for their successful salvation in the event of death. Any fears would greatly eased even by death.

Introduced to Japan from China in the twelfth century, Zen is a form of Buddhism that mainly focuses on seated meditation and pondering of koan, the paradoxical statements and questions, as practices leading to enlightenment. With its emphasis on discipline and self reliant effort, Zen was temperamentally suited to samurai warriors, who on the battlefield required skill and courage. Followers practiced Zazen, the discipline of seated meditation, and worked closely with experienced teachers in order to gain insight as they move towards enlightenment.

The ultimate goal of Zen is peace , spiritual awakening and the attainment of Buddhahood, but the concentration and equanimity fostered by the practice of meditation and the directness of mind and expression called for in koan encounters were of great practical use to even the most unenlightened samurai. The majority of Zen practicing samurai sought the mental discipline to be better warriors and meditation became their way of life.

Many samurai practiced meditation, alone and under the tutelage of Zen monks, and the concentration required by this practice became a guiding principle for martial arts and military discipline. The shogun’s deep connection to the Zen community is further demonstrated by the fact that many Zen monks wrote inscriptions above the painting to comment on its content. Other samurai would also collect Chinese ceramics, poetry and ink paintings, introduced to Japan through the Zen monasteries.

Zen is noted for its physical and mental training. The daily practice and the breathing exercise remarkably improves one's physical condition is an established fact. Zen masters enjoyed a long life in spite of their simple way of living. It is self control, the uplifting of the moral ideal and the disclosing of inborn wisdom. It was first introduced to Japan as the first faith for the Samurai and molded the characters of many distinguished warriors whose lives adorn the pages of history. Afterwards it gradually found its way into homes and palaces through literature, poetry and art.

Hatsuhinode is the Japanese tradition of waking up to see the first sunrise of the year on New Year's Day. It means "The Rising Sun" and is also known as "Hatsuhi Sunrise". This custom began in the Meiji period. The sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami is worshipped in many places of Japan. Gazing at hatsuhinode while wishing for a good fortune for the year ahead, Japanese people make new year resolutions and hold various events. People travel to popular locations such as Mount Fuji's summit and other locations of higher altitude in order to get better views of hatsuhinode. Temples and shrines on mountains are crowded with people trying to catch a first glimpse of the sunrise. Awakening before sunrise is also considered important, as viewing the first sunrise of the year is thought to be a good and proper start for the New Year.

Tao is the process of nature by which all things change and which is to be followed for a life of harmony. It is a Chinese word meaning "way". Tao signifies the fundamental nature of the universe. Tao is the underlying natural order of the universe. It is a discovery of a set of practices to aid keeping the mind, body and spirit engaged and strong. The path of understanding the way is simply accepting oneself as they naturally are. One's nature is ever changing and is always the same, Taoism is more than just a philosophy, it is understood as being and practices towards the service and living to one’s nature. Taoism is acceptance in our lives.

The Ensō is a sacred symbol in the Zen philosophy and is one of the most common subjects of Japanese calligraphy. It is also known as the Circle of Enlightenment. If you actually took the meanings of the two Kanji symbols that make up the word, Ensō would translate as the Circle of Togetherness, the cyclical nature of existence. Ensō symbolises many more things including: strength, elegance, the universe, the state of mind of the artist at the moment of creation and the acceptance of imperfection as perfect. The Ensō is a universal symbol of wholeness and completion, this is a zen symbol of the absolute, the true nature of existence.

Ikigai is a Japanese concept meaning "a reason for being." According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search of self discovery and reflection. The word "ikigai" is usually used to indicate the source of value in one's life and the things that make one's life worthwhile. The word is also used to refer to mental and spiritual circumstances under which one feels that their life is valuable and worthy. Ikigai is thought of as a reason to get up in the morning, that is, a reason to enjoy life.

Japanese Gardens were first cultivated during the Asuka period, an early period of time in Japan. Japanese travelers and merchants saw the beauty of the gardens and wanted to create a similar atmosphere at home. The tradition was influenced by the Shinto religion and the gardens provides a place for people to reflect. Japanese Gardens and Chinese Gardens appear in many major cities around the world. The ponds in Japanese gardens are usually filled by koi fish, trees, and flowers. Buddhist and Chinese philosophers used these gardens as a sanctuary for reflection, and in hundreds of years, the purpose of the gardens have remained the same.

The Sakura, the national flower of Japan, also known as the cherry blossom, represents a time of renewal and optimism. Due to their quick blooming season, cherry blossoms also symbolise the transience of life, a major theme in Buddhism. Cherry blossoms are magnificent but brief lifespan, falling a couple of weeks after full bloom, reminds people that similar to the delicate white pink flowers a human’s life is also short and beautiful. Sakura are also revered as a symbol of rebirth. There are many more significant meanings of the cherry blossom, and the Japanese reflect on them every year during a custom called Hanami.

The Sakura flower is also a symbol of coming of the spring. This flower is the first one to blossom after the winter which is why many see it as a symbol of rejuvenation and rebirth. Every spring, this gorgeous flower covers the alleys and pathways with a beautiful scent and makes everyone feel happy for the upcoming spring season. The flower of the cherry blossom is springtime after the long and cold winters, and in its simple beauty inspired the emperors, princesses, artists, poets, samurai and ordinary people of ancient Japan and became one of the main symbols of the earth of the emerging sun.

The lotus flower represents one symbol of fortune in Buddhism. It grows in muddy water, and it is this environment that gives forth the flower’s first and most literal meaning: rising and blooming above the murk to achieve enlightenment. The second meaning, which is related to the first is purification. It resembles the purifying of the spirit which is born into murkiness. The third meaning refers to faithfulness. Those who are working to rise above the muddy waters will need to be faithful followers.

Each lotus has its own colour and bears importance in the meaning of the lotus flower in Buddhism. A white lotus flower refers to purity of the mind and the spirit. A red lotus flower refers to compassion and love. The blue lotus flower refers to wisdom and logic to create enlightenment. The pink lotus flower represents the history of Buddha and the historical legends of the Buddha. A purple lotus flower speaks of spiritual awakening and mysticism. And the gold lotus flower represents all achievement of all enlightenment.

The stage of growth that the lotus flower is in represents a different stage of enlightenment. A closed lotus flower represents the time before one has found enlightenment. A lotus flower fully bloomed and open represents full enlightenment and self awareness. The mud represents an importance in the meaning of the lotus flower in Buddhism. All humans are born in a world where there is suffering. This suffering is a vital part of the human experience, it makes us stronger and teaches us to resist the temptation of the bad. When we banish bad thoughts from our mind we are able to break free of the muddy water and become one with nature.

The lotus flower represents rebirth, in every sense. The rebirth can be a change of ideas, an acceptance of enlightenment where there once was none, the dawn after one’s darkest day, a renaissance of beliefs or the ability to see past wrongs. The meaning of the lotus flower in Buddhism represents rebirth as a reincarnation, such as in the Buddhist religion, when a soul leaves this world in its present form to be reborn in another, and that is part of nature.

The path of peace consists of putting ourselves in tune with the universe, maintain peace in our own realms and to nurture life in whatever way that we can. Just as a lotus flower springs from the mud to bloom splendidly, the interaction of the universal nature causes the flower of the spirit to bloom and bear its fruit and beauty to the world. The most perfect actions echo the patterns found in nature and will always be over time.

Mindfulness is the quality of mind that is aware of what’s happening without interference. It is like a mirror that simply reflects whatever comes before it. We can start the practice of mindfulness meditation with the simple observation and feeling of each breath. Realise the difference between being lost in a thought and being mindful that we’re thinking. Becoming aware of the thought is like waking up from a dream after being absorbed by it. Through mindfulness, we naturally awaken from the dreams of our minds.

The art of peace is a way of life. Nature is always speaking to us, we just need to be aware and listen. Life is growth, always keep our mind and soul as clear as the open sky, the deep great ocean, and the highest peak of the mountains. Those who are growing and present never stop constructing themselves to be better warriors. The true purpose of practice is to better oneself and bring one's spirit to life. Be grateful even for hardships, dealing with such obstacles is an essential part of growth. The quality of peace is the appreciation of the coming together of the universe, earth and humankind. It is all that is true, good and beautiful.

All the principles of nature and earth are living inside of us. Life itself is the truth, and this will never change. Everything in the universe and earth breathes, for breath is the thread that ties creation together as one. For when the variations in the universal breath can be sensed, the techniques of harmony and peace are born in. Now and again, it is necessary to seclude ourselves amongst the trees, rivers, valleys, oceans and the mountains to restore our link to the source of where there is life. Our life is something we build everyday. It's not that one is lost, it's just that one is finding their own way.

Know that we are all in constant change, the energy of the sun and moon, the breath of the earth, the light and the darkness, the ebb and flow of the tide and the change of seasons. Our breath should follow the same pattern of that of nature, absorbing the entire universe in our body with each inhalation and releasing. Think of the recurrent pattern of the coming and going of the tide, the waves come onto the shore and dissolve, and then new waves come again and go back into the ocean. Observe constantly that all things take place by change and reflect on how all things change and constantly attend to the cycle of life.

Those who practice mindfulness and meditation must take care of themselves and take care of mother nature, the divine mirror of creation, and keep it beautiful and pure. The actions of our lives as peaceful warriors gives birth to natural beauty. The artistry, skills and techniques of a warrior arise as naturally as the appearance of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Being a peaceful warrior is none other than the spirit and liveliness that sustains all life. Our mind should be in harmony with the functioning of the universe and our body should be in tune with the movement of the universe.

Always observe the way of nature, see how the branches reach out to grasp the suns rays, study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between all the rocks. Everything should be our teacher, the animals, the birds, the plants, trees, mountains and rivers and all that surrounds us. Contemplate of all that is in the world and take all that is good. To bath ourselves with goodness, truth and with love and placing ourselves in the heart of nature. Peace originates in the flow of things and its heart is like the motion of the wind and waves.

Each day of human life contains all kinds of emotions and each moment is etched with nature's grand designs and we should always allow the natural order of things. The way of zen is to establish harmony within ourselves. To always try to be in communion with nature, then the world will appear in its true light. The essence of zen is to bring the world completely into our sphere. To truly implement the way of harmony and zen, one must be able to be divine and enlightened everywhere, by being from within. To think lightly of oneself and deeply of the world.

The way of zen is attempting to understand the meaning of life directly without being misled by logical thought. The true essence of zen is that all human beings are nature, and that all they have to do is to discover that truth for themselves. Zen is something a person does, it does not depend on words, it has to be experienced and lived in order to be truly understood.

Zen sends us looking inside us for peace and enlightenment. There's no need to search outside ourselves for the answers, we can find the answers in the same place that we found the questions. It consists of how we control our minds through meditation and other techniques that involve mind and body. Zen is concerned with things as they are in their original nature.

It is what it means to be completely alive, meditation for the body and the mind, a natural philosophy, a way of life with peace. When we are at peace inside ourselves, we are at peace with the world. To awaken to the basic reality of everyday life, we learn to participate in being present and to be completely engaged in the now. One should always confine to the present.

Nature in the world is like a river flowing home to the sea. In seeking the essence of the way, one should calm the mind and penetrate to the depths. Wherever we are, we are one with the earth and one with the sun and the stars we see, for we are one with everything as everything is part of us. We already have everything we need. This is who we really are. We are just one moment away from being fully awake to life.

We should live with life in every breath and embrace this moment. With courage and with wisdom, we are able to see clearly through the ways of the world. We come to understand that everything in the world is a teacher. For the trees can all reveal the true nature of reality, we can learn from nature enough to be enlightened. Cherish that which is within us, for we are each a unique living expression of the universe itself.

Change will only happen when we fall in love with nature and with our inner nature. Only peace can show us how to live in harmony with nature and one each other, that is the meaning of love, to be at one. When we pay attention to the universe, we find that everything contributes to its harmony. Let our heart and mind be free, let our abode be here, in the way.

The universe is filled with precious gifts. Each moment we are alive is a gift, shining through containing the light for growth. It needs us all to breathe and to see. Observe nature, we hear the birds singing, the trees swaying, the flowers blooming, the sky and all its colours, the clouds and all their shapes, and all where there is life.

The mind is boundless just as the pure water, containing the essence of the seasons. It is glistening bright and lustrously clear in the same way that the moonlight envelops the entire night sky. To follow the path within and clearly see the origin of all things, obscured by nothing, held by one's own self, freedom is the path of infinity, where dreams are born on the journey.

The face of nature is as a face in a mirror, like the water of a mirage, like the sound of an echo, like a mass of clouds in the sky and dreams of the eternal divine. In a thousand directions everywhere, throughout the sea of lands, every view gone by encompasses oceans of the past. Only heartbeats short of eternity, in breath by breath we dwell.

In this moment what more need we seek, As the truth eternally reveals itself, This very place is the garden of purity, And this very land is the ocean of zen. The echoes from the seasons breeze, The water flowing and it's constant endeavour, The strength of light shining through the trees, Awakened to the cycle of life forever.

#zen #shinto #tao #enlightenment #peace #serenity #mindfulness #courage #wisdom #strength #samurai #warrior #nature #reflection #patrick graven

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