Enthusiasm

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“Enzo” –|– Anthony Satori

The Greek root of the word “enthusiasm” is enthousiazo. It literally translates to, “the essence of God lives within you.” When you tap into a feeling of pure enjoyment and enthusiasm for something, anything – an activity, an experience, a person, or just for this extraordinary gift of being alive and awake – you are by that very act connecting your inner spirit with the Creative Spirit of the Universe. That is, your own individual flow of positive energy has the ability to become a conduit for the endless wellspring of positive energy contained within the Universe. What an amazing and inspiring revelation!

The scruffy little rescue kitten above is named Enzo. I am told that he was named after the creator of Ferrari, but I found the fact that his name shares the first two letters and the last two letters with the word “enthousiazo” to be a delightful coincidence. Kittens provide us with such a wonderful window into a pure “living in the moment” state of mind. All animals, in fact, show us, just by being themselves, what it means to exist in an abundant state of natural enthusiasm. And, if we are paying attention, we just might also be reminded that we too have full access to this Essence of God within our own selves, any time we desire it, if only we choose to seek it out.

Grasshopper

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“Buddha” –|– Anthony Satori

“When a grasshopper sits on a blade of grass, it has no thought of separation, resistance, or blame. Children seem to prefer dragonflies whose wings and bellies are as red as chili peppers. But the green grasshopper blends completely with the green grass, and children rarely notice it. It neither retreats nor beckons. It knows nothing of philosophy or ideals. It is simply grateful for its ordinary life. Dash across the meadow, my dear friend.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Just Like the Sun

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“Cat’s Eyes” –|– Anthony Satori

“Just imagine becoming the way you used to be… before you understood the meaning of any word, before opinions took over your mind. The real you is loving, joyful, and free. The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.”

– Don Miguel Ruiz

The Pace of Sand

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“Heart-Shaped Rock” –|– Anthony Satori

The thing about walking in sand is that you simply cannot rush. Each step takes time. Each step requires attention. You can choose a destination 10, 20, or even 100 feet away, but each step will only take you incrementally closer – slowly, deliberately – and you must make each stride mindfully and with care, so as to keep your balance and to keep yourself moving in the right direction. It is an exercise in patience. It is an exercise in presence. It is an exercise in Zen.

Sometimes you may think, “I will double my effort, triple it, maybe even multiply it five-fold.” But every such increase, even the most emphatic, tends to add at most maybe 5 or 10 percent to your speed – certainly not enough to be worth the additional expenditure of energy, not to mention the attendant elevation of stress, both physical and mental. Therefore, in the end, you eventually discover that your best strategy is merely to take it slow, to expend a reasonable amount of effort with each new step, and to move forward with calm, intention, and purpose – at the pace the sand will allow.

One of the delightful benefits, of course, of walking in sand in such a mindful manner is that sometimes you see things that you might have missed otherwise. Like a rock… shaped like a heart.

Chords in Harmony

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“Through the Leaves” –|– Anthony Satori

“I trust if your life is right, the right things will happen at the right time. If the chords are in harmony inside, I think other things will happen in the same way. That would have sounded pretentious to me once, but I believe it now.”

– Gene Wilder