Poetry is a street fighter. It has sharp elbows. It can look after itself. Poetry can't be used for manipulation; it's why you never see good poetry in advertising.
David WhyteRead
Gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.
Interpretation
Gratitude comes from being aware of the world around us and within us.
This quote emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and awareness in cultivating gratitude. It suggests that by truly observing and appreciating our surroundings and our inner experiences, we can foster a deeper sense of thankfulness for life and everything it encompasses.
In practice
During a mindfulness workshop, you can use this quote to emphasize the importance of being present.
Poetry is a street fighter. It has sharp elbows. It can look after itself. Poetry can't be used for manipulation; it's why you never see good poetry in advertising.
Poetry is often the art of overhearing yourself say things you didn't know you knew. It is a learned skill to force yourself to articulate your life, your present world or your possibilities for the future.
By definition, poetry works with qualities and dynamics that mainstream society is reluctant to face head-on. It's an interesting phenomenon that by necessity, poetry is just below the radar.
The price of our vitality is the sum of all our fears
The severest test of work today, is not of our strategies, but of our imaginations and identities.
We learn, grow and become compassionate and generous as much through exile as homecoming, as much through loss as gain, as much through giving things away as in receiving what we believe to be our due.
Pay attention to the vital few and ignore the trivial many.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.
Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid in academic studies, but you can't think your way out of emotional difficulties. That takes something altogether different. You have to make yourself passive then, and just listen. Re-establish contact with a slice of eternity.
It is always far easier to have faith in your own goodness than to confront others ad fight for your rights.
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.
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