A New Way of Looking…
“If we are always arriving and departing, it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” — Henry Miller
This weekend I said “no way” out loud, then laughed at my reaction to a newsletter subject line: “Holding on to Summer”.
I’ve been following Ingrid Fetell Lee since we read her book, Joyful, last summer. With a designer’s eye, she shares ways to bring more joy into our lives. Since she lives in the northeast, I can understand her perspective on summer. But I’m really not feeling it this year in Austin after so many days over 100 degrees with little rain.
While this is a lighthearted example, it made me think about all of the times I’ve jumped to conclusions about people because of what they’ve said. If we don’t take the time to consider their way of looking at the world — sometimes a better way, then we’ll never understand them or open ourselves to growth.
Henry Miller so beautifully invites us to consider “One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” This opens up so many possibilities. Is there a new perspective you might consider about a challenge you’re wrestling with or an argument you’re having with a loved one?
May you explore a new way of looking at what’s in front of you today. And may it lead to new possibilities.
The Right Way
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
―Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
Back to School
What We Do See…
No Fixed Plans
A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.
Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn’t reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn’t waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.
― Tao te Ching, first two stanzas of Chapter 27, translation by Stephen Mitchell.
