WEEK 48.1 (NOV 30- DEC 5TH) -TIME TO STOP DREAMING AND START DOING….
Topic 1 – Flexibility of the mind
“Imagine the mind as a young bamboo grove. At first, bamboo seems fragile, swaying with the wind. Yet, it bends without breaking, growing stronger and deeply rooted over time. Like bamboo, our minds can become more resilient and adaptable when we practice mindfulness.
But unlike bamboo, our minds often resist change, clinging to rigidity. True strength lies in bending with life’s winds, not resisting them. Today, as we move, let us embody the bamboo—flexible, open, and growing. With each breath, we build resilience and let growth flourish.”” David Scott
Tropic 2 – What is really important
“What is truly important to you? Think back to your last argument—did it really matter in the grand scheme? Life moves so fast, it’s easy to mistake distractions for priorities, like road dust obscuring our windshield. Mindfulness clears that view, allowing hopes and dreams to take root.
Imagine driving on a foggy night, where the road ahead seems limited to what the headlights show. But the road stretches far beyond. Similarly, if our vision is confined by the present, it becomes a cage. True vision is fueled by hope, not today’s limitations.
Each breath is a chance to begin again, to open our hearts and minds to new possibilities. Let our practice today create space for growth and dreams. As we move, remember: “Paradise is not a place; it’s a state of consciousness.” Let’s build that paradise within.”
Topic 3 – Time is an illusion
Take a moment to imagine a tree in a forest. It doesn’t know its age, yet its rings hold the story of its growth—times of abundance and times of drought. The tree doesn’t compare itself to the sapling or the ancient oak nearby. It simply stands in the moment, alive, growing, and adapting to the seasons.
In Buddhism, we are reminded that time is an illusion, and the only reality is the present moment. Your body may carry the marks of years, but your spirit is timeless, ageless, infinite. What matters is not the number of years behind you but the vitality, curiosity, and compassion you bring to this breath, this pose, this moment.
So, as we move today, let’s practice letting go of the stories we tell ourselves about who we are supposed to be at a certain age. Instead, simply be. Feel your ageless self, grounded yet limitless, like the tree that thrives in the now
“Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn’t more complicated that that. It is opening to or receiving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.” — Sylvia Boorstein
“Those who do not find time for exercise, will have to find time for illness.” – Edward Smith-Stanley
“Take risk… If you win you will be happy, if you lose you will be wise.”
“It’s time to stop dreaming and start doing… Become a master of your future and no longer a slave of your past.” – David Scott
“The greater the obstacle, to more joy is attained by overcoming it.”
“The beauty of love is that in giving it away, you are left with more than you had before.”- David Simon
Friendships
“Life chooses your family and acquaintances, but you must choose your friends. My mom would say… ‘if you sleep with dogs, your going to wake up with fleas.’ They say we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, so choose who you surround yourself carefully.
We can’t choose our family, but we have a choice in choosing our friends Our friends become the family we choose. Friends should not make you feel comfortable, but instead inspired. They should lift you up on the shoulders and help you see further than you could see on your own. After spending time with a true friends you should always feel better about yourself and not worse.” – David Scott
“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” – Shakespeare
“A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.” — Arnold H. Glasgow
“A single rose can be my garden … a single friend, my world.” — Leo Buscaglia
“One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“The best mirror is an old friend.” — George Herbert
“A true friend is someone who makes you laugh even when you think you’ll never smile again. Best friends are the people in your life who make you laugh louder, smile brighter and live better.”
“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. A winner never quits and a quitter never wins.”
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”- Michelangelo
“The most efficient path towards growth, is to surround yourself with people you admire, that lift you up and are already the kind of person you desire to become.” David Scott
“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chodron
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett
“Hope is the last thing ever lost; the last thing to die in a human” Italian Proverb
“Anything you can’t control in life is teaching you how to let go.”
“You can’t teach someone something they think they already know.” David Scott
“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.” -Thomas Merton
“Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.” – George R. R. Martin
“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking more than you need.” — Khalil Gibran
“A wounded deer leaps highest.” – Emily Dickinson
“Only eyes washed by tears can see clearly.”- Louis Mann
“Sadness flies away on the wings of time.” – Jean de La Fontaine
“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind—you are the one who hears it.” — Michael A. Singer
“To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable, to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength”
“It is always easier to start well than to finish well. The tragedy of many is not that they lose, but that they almost win. The tiny drops of rain, create holes in rock, not by brute force, but by soft perseverance.”
“Success is often just over the next horizon, People frequently don’t fail; they just quit trying.” – David Scott
“He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.” – Arabian Proverb
“A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror.” – Ken Keyes
“A kernel is the outer shell of a seed and it holds it back from sprouting. Only once the pressure inside the seed finally becomes greater than the outward tension of the kernel holding it back, does the seed sprout. What is a kernel in your life, stopping you from blooming today?” – David Scott
“Life is about making mistakes. Death is about wishing you made more.” – Jennifer Aniston
“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” – Albert Camus
“When you’re forcing love to stay alive with someone, it isn’t love anymore. It has become the fear of being hurt and alone. Clinging to love will be a lot more painful in the long run, and sometimes, you just have to know when to let go.”
“When I’m hungry, I eat what I love. When I’m bored, I do something I love. When I’m lonely, I connect with someone I love. When I feel sad, I remember that I am loved.”— Michelle May