Calmness of Mind

I am back from Indonesia and safe. Thanks to all the emails or posts on face book for your concern during the earthquakes there. FYI they have still had minor earthquakes every week since those big ones hit. Feel blessed to not have to worry about that on a weekly basis.

So for quite awhile now I have been on this reading kick and meditation stuff. Most of the books are self-help and inspirational type stuff but I have found amazing insights and solid meanings. This year for some reason has been a reflective one for me. I think part of it is at the stage of life Im at and part is due too my travels and experiences in general. This last trip especially was a pretty powerful and eye opening experience. Today I was reading this book and came across this deep insight that I thought I should share. "As long as there is a lack of the inner discipline that brings calmness of mind, no matter what external facilities or conditions you have, they will never give you the feeling of joy and happiness that you are seeking. On the other hand, if you posses this inner quality, a calmness of mind, a degree of stability within, then even if you lack various external facilities that you would normally consider necessary for happiness, it is still possible to live a happy and joyful life."

I was blown away when I read that. It totally put a finger on my whole experience in Indonesia. I thought I had seen poor conditions and people in Hawaii or Costa Rica which I did, but not to the extent of there. On the other hand, I have never met more loving, giving, warm and happy people as I did in Indo! They lead extremely simple lives and work very hard for what they have which is not much. You could see it in their eyes. Eyes can tell so much of a person. I will blog about the trip and my experiences later but this was another way I learned I have way too much and need to simplify more than I have, and we really don't need much to be content and happy. Truly happy. "The true antidote of greed is contentment".

In my journeys too Indo I decided to bring a friend back with me....