Jack Kornfield is one of my favourite modern thinkers. His approaches to life come from traditions of Yoga, Buddhism, and Psychology. This talk here has so many gems in it, which I share with you today as I continue to heal my natural generosity and the joy of it. Recent trauma has taught me to be more careful with my generosity, not to divorce from it, but to be more discerning in my giving and sharing.

 

The giving part of my spirit has been in a lot of pain for the last two plus years especially, but it is healing, thank Gods, thank the natural laws of the universe, and thank the multitudes of real loving people in the world. There truly is a great joy to it, as Kornfield talks about, which is a large part of the spirit of my art.

 

For me, art is sharing, and as I work with the multifaceted nature of experiencing life, thinkers like Kornfield, who speak from the wise heart, help me to find the peace of acceptance without becoming complacent, to find the balance between wise effort and letting go, to prioritize stillness and appreciation along with setting and working towards goals, to feed myself as well as others.

 

I generally have more problems with selflessness than selfishness. I give away time, money, work, attention to others freely. Recovering from chronic illness and trauma have necessarily involved developing better boundaries around reserving enough for myself first.

 

Parts of me used to believe this was selfish, but then I learned the hard way that it was the only way to be of true service to others, to take care of myself first. On air planes, they tell parents to put their own oxygen mask on before even their children's. You can't save your child if you're dead is the bare logic of it. The same applies for being present for myself in my daily work, whatever that might be. Doing so allows me to be selfless in the way Kornfiled talks about both safely and enjoyably.

 

Remembering the gifts of the present calls me to take time enjoy the fruits of my labour myself, too, not only in sharing them with others, but also in my own body, mind, and spirit. I picked apples this week from the crab apple tree of some family happy to share. I turned them into a delicious apple sauce. Then as my mind muddled over how to portion it out, store it, and share some of it, my head started to hurt, literally. The work of processing the apples gave me a headache (#chronicillness), but then I had this lovely idea, thankfully. "Sit down and enjoy some of this delicious apple sauce, love." And I did, with some raw cashews.

 

I forget sometimes to enjoy my own work, to be present with the fruits of it and let it sink in. When it's food, that is a truly delicious process. I usually do the same thing with my art. I try to enjoy it for a while before it goes to a new home. I have a space in my living room for newly finished work.

 

Kornfield has a wonderfully warming, calming, and inspiring way of speaking about the gifts of being present that I could only ever hope to emulate, so I'll leave it at that and pass it on.

 

I hope you enjoy this talk as much as I did.

 

Here's to enjoying the fruits of our efforts, not just the problems ;)

 

Joy, Virtue, and Overcoming Conflict - Hopeful Jack Kornfield Mindfulness Talk

 

xo,

 

J