What follows are words of wisdom from several books I’ve recently read. May the words offer you wisdom, reflection, and thoughtfulness.
Compassion
“Change brings loss, and loss brings grief, often disguised as anger, fear, anxiety, or resentment. It seems like we suffer because of change. In truth, we suffer because of our refusal to accept life as it is. We demand reliability, continuity, and guarantees, and in so doing we invite unnecessary pain into our lives. With compassion, you can learn to embrace the unavoidable pain that enters your life with kindness.
Compassion – Listening to the Cries of the World by Christina Feldman, 2005
White Privilege
“Individual whites may be ‘against’ racism, but they still benefit from a system that privileges whites as a group. Racism is ‘a system of advantage based on race.’ These advantages are referred to as white privilege, a sociological concept referring to advantages that are taken for granted by whites and that cannot be similarly enjoyed by people of color in the same context (government, community, workplace, schools, etc.).”
White Fragility – Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, 2018
Mindfulness
“We have to learn the art of stopping – stopping our thinking, our habit energies, our forgetfulness, the strong emotions that rule us. How can we stop our fear, despair, anger, and craving? We can stop by practicing mindful breathing, mindful talking, mindful smiling, and deep looking in order to understand.”
The Pocket Thick Nhat Hanh by Melvin McLeod, 2012
Globalization
“Many of us think that globalization is exclusively a modern phenomenon. But if that’s the case, then why were Confucius, Socrates, and the Buddha addressing similar philosophical questions at roughly the same time 2,500 years ago, despite living in completely different places, separated by such great distances, and speaking completely different languages? The fact is that innovations, technologies, and ideas have been moving across the globe for a very long time.”
The Path – What Chinese Philosphers Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh, 2016
Fear
“We live in a world that feeds our egos with fear. We’re bombarded by fear-based messages every day. Fear is pervasive, like a cancer that’s gotten in our bones. While the world piles fear on top of our inner light, our job is to remember that light within. When we do, whatever seemed to conceal it ceases to exist. That’s where the prayer comes in. Please heal my fear-based thoughts.”
The Only Little Prayer You Need by Debra Landwehr Engle, 2014
