8 Folded Limbs

Are you working In a field that suits you?  Are you working just for money? Do you feel like you have to compromise your ethics to carry out your job? Are there many things that you are paying for--keeping you a slave to your job?   If you could down-size your life and work less--would you? Maybe time at work shelters your mind from your thoughts? Maybe you do not enjoy your home life and wish to escape. The less you carry with you(physical and mental)--the less you have to work to bear. Get rid of things that are not good for you.  Do not keep many monuments to the past or you will find yourself wanting to be there.  Do not hold many visions of the future, or the same will be said of it. Thoughts are things, and can be hoarded, too. Lighten your load.

Once you realize that this life is really finite and you have to make the most of every day you have -- there is an odd sense of peace involved.  Every second seems to slow down and the colors are more vibrant than they ever have been. The most simple tasks become a ritual and every day holds new meaning.  There is an added urgency to be kind to everyone -- including those you do not like.  The things you thought you wanted pale in comparison to the mundane joy in the familiar. अ॒सतो मा स॒द्गमय। त॒मसो मा ज्यो॒तिर्गमय। मृत्यो॒र्माऽमृ॒तं गमय॥ — बृहदारण्यकोपनिषत् १-३-२८ a̱sato mā sa̱dgamaya ta̱maso mā jyo̱tirgamaya mṛtyo̱rmā’mṛ̱taṁ gamaya — bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣat 1-3-28 “From delusion lead me to truth From darkness lead me to light From death lead me to immortality.”