It is not our preferences that cause problems but our attachment to them.
We all want to grow and improve our well being and our lives, but few of us want to do the hard work, and have the discipline, that is necessary for us to change and become healthier. You need to commit to following a successful vision and experience what is uncomfortable because that is the only way to self-mastery and self-improvement.
No matter how difficult the past, you can always begin again today.
A musical instrument is best maintained by playing it. The more we exercise our physical, mental and spiritual facilities the less they deteriorate and the stronger we become. Do not merely exist. Train, exert yourself, work, practice, apply, perform, and execute. Use your faculties, your mind, body and soul. Dump the garbage in your mind and burn the fat off your soul.
Make it happen. What is the ocean but a multitude of drops?
Satoru
Making any changes in your life is difficult. It requires commitment, start slowly, and you must be ready. How do you start? Change your story. Dream, visualize, and meditate. Daydream about how wonderful it would be to have more energy to solve your problems and look better. Visualize how you would look a few pounds lighter and more toned. Think of how wonderful it could be if you had more bounce to your step and had the energy to focus on managing your life more effectively. Surprise- you can, but you have to start moving more now.
A student asks, “Why do you speak so much about the physical? Isn’t Zen mainly about the mind?
A cracked pot does not hold water. Those who would preserve the spirit must also look after the body to which it is attached.
Zen is a collection of essential health advice organized around attitude, mindfulness, wellness, correct thinking and the components of achieving physical and mental health. Zen is a philosophy, that when internalized and practiced successfully, acts as a vehicle to enhance your potential, focus your energy, and create a solid center for your existence. Using the Zen philosophy we learn that physically, mentally and spiritually we have to continually move toward a stature that allows us to grow, improve and gain success.
Satoru
A frozen wind creeps across the icy surface of the lake and onto the snow-covered slope. The chill blows over me and through my cloths as if I was wearing mesh. The stone cold silence is punctuated by absolute stillness. In the vast space I search for movement and listen for sound but there is none. This Arctic Anomie reminds me of the hard years spent in Alaska. But now I stand alone enjoying the still isolation and the panorama of this polar vortex.
A Way To Live – ZEN 