Ai Weiwei : A Study in Perspective
Hirshhorn / Washington D.C. / 11.23.12
I am thankful that I can do this ^.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
I am thankful that I can do this ^.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
CATCHING ANGER BEFORE IT STARTS
Taking our awareness ‘beneath’ our anger and fully acknowledging our pain can be a potent way to transform our anger.
With our pain held in the compassionate embrace of mindfulness and lovingkindness, we are able to let the the hurt pass naturally, without it triggering a cycle of anger. There are two primary skills needed in order to relate to our pain in this way. First is mindfulness, which is the ability to notice our experience. With practice, we get better at recognizing fleeting and often very subtle feelings. This is an incredibly useful ability to have in life, because intuition, empathy, and creativity depend upon the ability to notice subtle feelings. Second is lovingkindness, which is the ability to relate in a non-judgmental, caring way to ourselves and others. Lovingkindness allows us to experience pain and to simply allow it to be. It allows us to value pain as a normal part of being human, rather than as a sign of failure. It allows us to get close to our pain without being overwhelmed by it. So let’s revisit an example we used earlier. This time we’re driving along, and someone cuts us off. A fleeting moment of fear appears in the solar plexus, and we notice this. Recognizing that we’re in pain, we acknowledge our hurt and embrace it with lovingkindness. We treat it just as we would a hurt child; we hold it in a loving embrace. And anger simply doesn’t appear. The pain that’s arisen will pass in a few moments or in a few minutes, because once the initial perception of danger has passed, there’s nothing to support the fear. What’s happened in doing this is that we’ve created a degree of freedom from our usual mental habits. Our mindfulness has created a “gap” between feeling and emotion, so that anger simply doesn’t arise. And in the mental space we’ve created, lovingkindness and compassion for ourselves naturally manifest. We may even find that this compassion automatically extends to others, including the person who cut us off. We’ve created a whole different experience for ourselves simply by paying attention to our fleeting feelings. Even if anger does arise, we can usually “backtrack.” We can look for the pain underneath the anger, and switch our focus to that, once again embracing our hurt in a field of lovingkindness. And often any anger that’s arisen will just evaporate. By honoring our pain and by responding to it with compassion, we are able to let go of our anger and to extend our compassion to those around us – including those who prompted our pain. Not caught up in the flames of anger and hatred, we manifest a warm, loving, aware space from which to respond to others, and unleash our creativity, finding intuitive responses to situations that we previously found maddening, whether it is listening to others’ unskillful communication, being cut off in traffic, dealing with unruly children, or coping with things not going the way we want them. Anger becomes a choice and not a compulsion – just one strategy among others that we can employ in responding to our world.
IT'S OFFICIAL
NeedSupply is carrying DIGDOGDIG rope necklaces.
I am very excited and I am very thankful.
This is a great unexpected opportunity.
Thank you, Krystle for noticing my necklace at Starbucks!
three times over
a broken heart
three times over
we fell apart
three times over
I see the truth
three times over
I'll never again
be with you.
I
have been working on jewelry for over a year now. As a source to
comfort depression and a need for expression, armor/jewelry making
has been a solid friend for some good time now. It got me through a
32 day USA tour with Cigarette, was inspired by and sold at farmer's
markets in Hawaii, and my first job in Richmond 9 months ago was at a
bead store, where I excelled with it's amazing resources to generate
new ideas. About a month ago, I was approached by a woman at the
Starbucks I go to almost every day about a necklace I was wearing - a
necklace that I made. She asked who made it and as soon as she found
out it was me, she became excited and asked me to come into her store
so that she could sell them. Last night these necklaces left my hands
and went to their new temporary shelter - Need Supply. My hopes
through this opportunity is to continue to elevate the integrity and
quality of my work and be inspired. And I have to say, not much of
why I create stems from sadness now, but instead through excitement
and gratitude. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through
this silly hobby (that didn't have to go anywhere besides just making
things for my friends, which will never stop anyway). All the warmth
and love, I couldn't ask for more! An affirmation of sorts has taken
place and just know if you continue to be genuine with yourself and
your work, anything is possible and opportunities are everywhere.
DTDT forever and always!
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