Art of Living- Leo Babauta

http://zenhabits.net/aol/

For many years I simply lived, and got by.

But in the last few years, after learning a bit about habits and mindfulness and simplicity and love, I have changed my approach to living.

Now I see living as an art form, to be studied and played with and practiced and mastered. Of course, few ever master the art of living, and I don't know if I ever will. Probably not.

But I can pursue this art. I can appreciate it when others do it well. I can learn about it, through experiments and observation and introspection.

My pursuit of the art of living is only just beginning, but I thought I'd share a bit about this pursuit with you, my good friends.

Beginning the Pursuit

The journey begins with a single step, a wise man said, and for me that first step is simple:

Admit I don't know.

Learning begins by emptying your cup, so that you can fill it with what you find. Emptying your cup means getting rid of pre-set opinions.

I don't know what the art of living is, but I am curious.

And so the path is one of open hands, of curiosity and finding out.

And it's one of bare feet, of being open and naked, willing to be exposed to life and chaos.

It's about clear seeing, mindfulness turned to seeing reality as it is, without trying to make things rosy or conform to the story you tell yourself.

Clear seeing, naked, open hands, curious without knowing. That's the path that I've found, so far.

The Art Emerges

With clear seeing, I start to see why I (and others) suffer, why we stress and get mad at each other and want more and more.

And now I can start to apply the art of living to my days.

Here's what I practice with, imperfectly:

• Compassion. Instead of being angry or frustrated, I find the pain in others, and open my heart to them. This includes compassion for myself.
• Gratitude. Life is filled with wonder, and the people around me as well. I try to open myself to that wonder, and be grateful it's there, instead of complaining.
• Joyfear. Joy is an awesome thing to have, but joyfear is present in the powerful moments in life where joy and fear mix, where we're taking chances and doing something outside of our comfort zone that both excites us and makes us face the possibility of failure. I now embrace these moments rather than avoiding them.
• Not avoiding discomfort or uncertainty. When we avoid discomfort, we are limited by our comfort zone, and new learning and new ventures become impossible. When we avoid uncertainty, we only stick to what we know. But we can purposely become good at discomfort and uncertainty, by practicing in small bite-sized chunks, over and over.
• Staying with the moment, even when it's hard. This is the hardest of all. "Living in the moment" sounds wonderful, but actually staying with the present moment isn't ever easy. Try it: with your eyes open, sit still and stay with the sights and sounds around you for 1 minute, without your mind wandering away from them. If you don't notice your mind wandering, either you're an experienced mindfulness practitioner, or you didn't notice when your mind wandered.
• Relationships are everything. Getting what we want, having things our way, having control, being right … these things matter nothing compared to relationships. Imagine being in your death bed at the age of 80 … will your sense of being right and in control comfort you when you have no good relationships, no one who has loved you? Put relationships first.
• Not holding on to expectations & judgments. Expectations and judgments prevent me from enjoying what I have, from enjoying the simple presence of someone else in my life. I practice with noticing these expectations and judgments, and practice with holding them loosely, letting them go.
• Letting go. This is the art of living in two words: letting go. It's letting go of judgments, expectations, wanting to be right, wanting to control, fear of discomfort, fear of uncertainty, fear of failure, fear of boredom, comparing myself to others, wanting distraction, being irritated, complaining. It's noticing when I'm holding these, and letting go. Loosening my heart's grip on any of these, and letting go. And then letting go again. And again.

And so the art of living is a practice, one that doesn't end, that doesn't have a mastery level. It's a constant letting go, a constant picking up again, and then letting go again. And falling, and getting up without beating myself up.

The art of living is the art of getting back up.

Judicial Services Commission- Questions

I live in the quite dramatic country called Kenya. Inhabited by 35 million, only a few political players call the shots and everyone else seems to be invisible in Kenya.

Mrs. Gladys Boss Shollei, a former university lecturer, then Editor, Kenya Law, Deputy CEO at IEBC and formerly, Chief Registrar, the Judiciary has been what it seems unceremoniously sacked at the Judiciary.

The truth is i have not insider information from the judiciary apart from the newspaper "He said, She said". 

My questions for Kenyans is;

1. Don't we have anything better in this country that works or why are we fixated with a few people.

2. As we are fixated with these few people, a lot of them are making money with serious investments, huge ranches, good government deals etc. I wish i could have time to do my own " Who owns Kenya?"

3. Is this fixation, a smokescreen. That Kenyans may never move beyond fixating on these few political players and focus on improving their lives?.

4. Don't we ever learn?

Filed under Stupidity

Ode to My Beloved-

I wrote this when i lost my auntie in 2010. I miss her terribly.

t is the end of the beginning of a beautiful story that would bring even the most genius storyteller into shame. As I sit here, not knowing what to do, scribbling furiously with my keyboard well, I refuse to go for a meeting to discuss your untimely demise for now, I don't know what to do. Yet I know, honestly, I do not have the strength to deal with everyday issues especially such as this one. But for sure, it will never be easy, not now, not ever.

I remember the day I met you. It was a sunny day, my great grandmother's funeral. It was your sense of style that struck me and I was barely 12 years. I thought you looked great, I didn't even know we were going in the same direction! Later I was to meet this lady my uncle was enamored with. I watched you two from a distance, sitting on the same mat, eating from the same plate and who would have thought one day I would be as wretched and grief stricken to watch you leave this earth without as much as a goodbye. Few years later, we had you in the family and even the success card you sent me in standard eight is somewhere in my box, the one I keep all the old letters.


We grew to love you, for you were giving without compromise and yet we all knew how strong you were. You took all of us like your own. You were like a second mum, we sat I talked, you listened, you gave me feedback. Even the way we got stuck during the post election violence when we didn't have fuel! Yet you gave my uncle life, you gave him babies and most of all you loved him in a way no one else could. I understand his pain now. Some people are just rare and maybe that's why God wanted you for himself. Gosh, the way you always brought samosas and gifts for my brother's birthday.
Now most I think of is your son, that whom you died for so that he may live. What a great sacrifice! I know he will never be grateful; it will be always a painful thing to him. A child left at its infantry with no mother and yet it is the greatest sacrifice that of love, the ability to give up your life for someone else, no one else could do that. Yet that heroic act is what we mourn today. We mourn all the young life you had, the beauty, your true spirit, the hope and the undying love you had for all of us.

Your laughter, wisdom is all etched in my mind today and thereafter.