💌 6 Things Thursday #29
Hi,
Apologies for the radio silence. On February 19 my mom suddenly died while attending her college reunion Bangladesh. I made a short clip to honor her joy, wisdom, compassion, and love.
1/ A book I’m reading
No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh
The day my mother died I wrote in my journal, "A serious misfortune of my life has arrived." I suffered for more than one year after the passing away of my mother. But one night, in the highlands of Vietnam, I was sleeping in the hut in my hermitage. I dreamed of my mother. I saw myself sitting with her, and we were having a wonderful talk. She looked young and beautiful, her hair flowing down. It was so pleasant to sit there and talk to her as if she had never died. When I woke up it was about two in the morning, and I felt very strongly that I had never lost my mother. The impression that my mother was still with me was very clear. I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother is always alive in me.
I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. It was a hill covered with tea plants, and my hut was set behind the temple halfway up. Walking slowly in the moonlight through the rows of tea plants, I noticed my mother was still with me. She was the moonlight caressing me as she had done so often, very tender, very sweet... wonderful! Each time my feet touched the earth I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine but a living continuation of my mother and my father and my grandparents and great-grandparents. Of all my ancestors. Those feet that I saw as "my" feet were actually "our" feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.
From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.
2/ A track I’m meditating to
Imagine - Ram Dass
YouTube / Spotify / Apple Music
Because as long as we're locked into our thoughts, we're always just one thought away from here.
3/ A post I read
Dealing with the Immense Uncertainty of the World
The world is in a state of intense mass uncertainty. Don’t shut yourself off to it, ignore it or try to control, distract or exit.
Open yourself to this, because it is a powerful time to practice.
4/ An essay I re-read
Why to start a startup in a bad economy
…what matters is who you are, not when you do it. If you're the right sort of person, you'll win even in a bad economy. And if you're not, a good economy won't save you.
Someone who thinks "I better not start a startup now, because the economy is so bad" is making the same mistake as the people who thought during the Bubble "all I have to do is start a startup, and I'll be rich."
5/ Another post I read
How Does a Buddhist Monk Face Death?
If we learn to celebrate life for its ephemeral beauty, its coming and going, appearance and disappearance, we can come to terms with and make peace with it. We will then appreciate its message of being in a constant process of renewal and regeneration without holding back, like everything and with everything, including the mountains, stars, and even the universe itself undergoing continual change and renewal. This points to the possibility of being at ease with and accepting the fact of constant change, while at the same time making the most sensible and selfless use of the present moment.
6/ A tweet I enjoyed
What graduation may start to look like
Nana Kwame @TheAbrahamAsare
March 15th 2020
63,810 Retweets239,243 Likes
Till next time.
Keep your distance, tell someone you love them, and wash your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds.
😷 Raad