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What we are doing right?
marcitko
Veteran
Hello everyone,
I've been having some troubles lately (poor sleep) and am in need of some positivity.
Even though there might be some potential drawbacks to this, spiritual ego and all that stuff, and the yang in the yin and the yin in the yang, let's have a thread to celebrate some of the things we are doing right.
No need for this to be a hollier-than-though thread, we're all flawed (Mistakes R US as Genkaku would say), but equally I know that we are all trying to be better and practice on a daily basis towards our aspirations and Boddhisatva ideals.
Three things I'm doing right these days:
- Over half a year and more of not taking my phone to the toilet
a.k.a. practicing not being a phone zombie. Great success! I know that it's the small things that eventually snowball towards better things. - Three established projects of a socially-useful variety (the already mentioned Kiva + two through my highschool Alumni foundation, organising Alumni lectures for the pupils + a scholarship ). One big project of this type in (purposefuly slow) development, hopefully it will slowly come to fruition.
- Quit drinking 4-5-6 months ago, feeling good about it.
What are some things you are doing right?
9
Comments
I think you are absolutely right to say we need to stand still with the things we are doing right, it is important to realise that we are doing positive things.
I have been involved in…
I think the intention to do right, to live with honesty, transparency, kindness and reliability is maybe even more important than the results. But that is a major reason why I spend time on Buddhist forums, because people here live by these high intentions.
Great stuff @Jeroen
!
our life is buddha living....with mind and heart we live the seasons.
Me better (allegedly):
Well done everyone inspiring us with their efforts and successes. Their fun, funnies and behaviour modifications. Well done us!
I guess one thing I'm doing right is not letting the current political shenanigans get to me. I've resolved to accept the things I cannot change, have the courage to change the things I can, and do my best to discern the difference.
I won't let it go to my head, lol.
The few things I've been doing right lately: doing really well at my job (medical assistant at internal medicine clinic), reading more (currently reading Rabbi Sam Lebens' Principles of Judaism and Rebecca Yarros' Onyx Storm), seeing a psychiatrist, trying to get into a better exercise routine.
Everything else, not so right lol.
The neurodivergent movement seems to be having a bit of a moment, that is for sure. But my experience with psychiatrists is that they are generally more interested in prescribing you pills than in genuine mental health. Music and Buddhism have done me more good in recent years than anything else.
Glad to hear it. In my case, music and Buddhism weren’t quite enough 🤷♂️
We all sort out our world/milieu as best we can... or can-can in my case
Finding alternatives to support or just use...
https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/24/ditching-meta-open-source-alternatives-to-instagram-tiktok-and-whatsapp-fundraise-on-kickstarter/
I recently added a second screen to my desktop. Now I can be in two virtual worlds at once. My efforts at entering other dimensions will have to wait...
Amen (A version of Aum)
I found an investigation into my views and their origins to be helpful. Generally the stronger the opinions that you hold, the more difficult it is to live as kindness, softness, mellowness. Living with one’s being in that space means being more forgiving, holding fewer grudges, and acts as a general protective measure against much mental ill health.
Hence I practice metta even for bodhi Trump.
I think it all depends on what the opinions are as opposed to how strong one holds to them. I know the general attitude of Buddhism is to relinquish views, but some views are skillful and useful and shouldn’t be abandoned before they’re no longer useful.
Holding strong opinions on the efficacy of the principles of Buddhism (especially the precepts, teachings on interdependence, and the four brahmaviharas) has helped to make me a kinder, more compassionate, and easy to talk to person. The same goes for my political opinions. That’s why I’m able to room and treat a patient no matter who they are or what they believe, and every one feels comfortable enough to share their thoughts with me. I’ve had people go off about vaccines being a scam and how I should vote for Trump because he’ll make things good again and others who’d say the opposite. They all feel comfortable enough to share these things with me, and I treat them all the same because I care about them as people.
My own suffering partially stems from childhood trauma and some neurodivergent issues, but the majority of it stems from systemic issues and the external pressures they exert upon my life, not so much my opinions. And while Buddhism has helped me greatly over the years, there are some things that it hasn’t and I’m open to exploring other tools to help. And for mental health issues, I’ve found that finding the right therapist can go a long way towards helping one heal and overcome things that prevent them from moving forward.
Strong, skilful views can definitely help one remain upright in today’s society. Every persons situation is unique and we all have to find what works for us, all we can do is share a few tips and tricks, so with that in mind:
Regularly checking in and monitoring my thoughts as they come and go helps me maintain balance. Occasionally, unwholesome thoughts—those capable of disrupting the mind's flow—slip in unnoticed. But for the most part, this practice keeps things (and thoughts, as they are indeed things) in check.
Oh and the other thing...Not taking my life too seriously....
I find myself very low on energy these days, so mindful energy management has become a big concern. Uncontrolled reactivity, it seems, is a big energy waster, and consequently I have become much less reactive than I was previously. Most of this reactivity was entirely internal, and many internal reactions have faded away entirely. Outwardly I've stopped spewing strings of blasphemies every time I fumble or drop something. Very pleased about this generally.
A small victory today. I had an early breakfast and didn't really have time for my morning meditation. Mid day I was feeling a bit stressed and down and sat down for a 20 minute meditation. Normally if I miss my normal routine I'll have a hard time pulling myself out of the momentum of the day to do something like that.
You must be some sort of Super-Saint these days...
Looking after the Alaskan sheep and ex-blasphemers is now available...
All together now - [karaoke sing song - Godson style]
Ah ha! A master-plan emerges... KUM BA YA
I laugh a lot, because in my daily life I find that there are always things to laugh about...And when I'm serious, I'm serious, because there are things/situations which require some seriousness ...but not too much seriousness as this can be detrimental to ones health and well being...
Many moons ago a Buddhist friend who lives in Europe told me what her Dharma once told her group/Sangha "Beware of unhappy Buddhists...They are not really practicing, just being intellectual "
Which also reminds me of this:
The Dharma.
I’m a great believer in hugs, myself.
This is a great line, and I totally agree.
Dear Friends I have found who is responsible for the Unhippy and Unhappy Buddhists,
It is the domestics or servants. Domestic terrorists and 'others'.
https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20250127#sitenews
[lobster faints]
I am so sorry that I am an 'other' and a 'domestic terrorist' (soon available in other countries than good Olde Boys of USA). Please become a Bible Thumper Trumper, before they come looking for your heathen Buddhist statues. Your Bambi eyes won't save you
Now please excuse me whilst I go to confession... Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.
Our Big Brother who art in The Whitey House on the prairie.
Hellacious is they brand name...
Thy Kingdom, Cum
Thy Will, done for
etc...
"Wot a fiend we have in cheeses"
Now that I am an X-tian Uddhist (like a buddhist without a blessed Bee in their bonnet and more like a Mu Cow) and GPH (General Purpose Heretic):
More fun things to do for a Free and sacrilegious world wind tour, as I come up with them. Thank you for the opportunity...
P.S. won't be watching this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cults_and_Extreme_Belief
They seem a little tame. Good for a dose of outrage I suppose...
Even the best of us have those times when we find the little gremlin has picked the lock and run out to break dishes, overturn teacups and generally create mischief and mayhem. Eventually, we are able to get our gremlin, kicking and screaming, by the scruff of the neck and toss it back into it's cage, slam the door shut and put a new lock on the door. Then we return to trying to develop our mercy and compassion - until the next time. And there will continue to be next times until we eventually get it right (maybe).
But that is just part of life, of living. After all, the gremlin and the Bodhisattva are one and the same.
Don't kick yourself when you trip or fall or momentarily step "off the path". Just get back up, reset your feet, step back on the path and move ahead. You have just learned one more way not to screw up and one more way to recover.
Welcome to the life of a Human Being.
Peace to all
It’s odd…
Lately I have been finding that the path to relaxation has been leading through a period of degeneration, and that there is no more letting go to be done. That instead I need brief periods of vipassana to re-align my energy, not much, no more than 5 minutes every once in a while. That just tells me that it’s necessary to listen to my body.
I just had some cold pumpkin soup made yesterday evening entirely from fresh ingredients, there was a little left over and I thought it might suit me for lunch. The delicate flavours of fried shallots and toasted garlic and ginger were most delicious. That too is listening to the body, that it prefers the soup to chocolate (of which I also had a little).
For the rest, I have been letting the body take a few naps during the day, sleeping when it feels like it would like a little extra sleep, such as after a meal. Which means I have been awake a little more during the night, which is fine too. It is all natural rhythms of the body, day and night.
In a way much of our rhythm is determined by living circumstances. I think of my experimental rhythm above as a ‘caveman rhythm’, going back to prehistory before nine-to-five jobs were a thing. It’s a luxury to be able to explore such a thing without pressure and anxiety.
Soon you will be one with the grass hoppers,
When you walk through a storm, Hold your head up high, And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm, There's a golden sky, And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on, With hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone, You'll never walk alone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokk%C5%8Dd%C5%8D
If you have an Android phone (that is most of them)
Try a daily Buddha quote app
https://f-droid.org/packages/org.bandev.buddhaquotes/
For example
Leave behind the passive dreaming of a rose-tinted future. The energy of happiness exists in living today with roots sunk firmly in reality's soil
~Gautama Buddha
Edit:
Wait a minute... The Buddha never said that. I have been contaminated by misinformation. Fortunately we should be able to remove the roses tints and smell the roses. Glad someone said that before it was too late...
Here are some excellent tips
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/08/top-10-scandi-life-lessons-after-decade-in-denmark
A few things I have been doing yesterday and this morning…
I stopped putting sugar in my tea. I usually have 4 cups on workdays and 2 on days off. For many years I had used Truvia sweetener, but a couple studies now have shown that it increases the clotting effect of blood in higher doses and I have a stent from an old accident. I tried allulose with monk fruit for a bit, but it was pretty expensive and would make me slightly nauseous sometimes if I had tea on an empty stomach. So I switched to sugar, which wasn't as sweet. I was away from home but brought some tea with, I couldn't locate any sweetener when I made it in the morning so I went ahead without it and it was fine. I never really drank it for the taste anyway.
It hasn't been that long, but I seem to have noticed a decreased desire for sweets and I think craving in general has been down. I think this move is likely related in some way to my recent stomach virus/food poisoning incident.
I was also persuaded by this Kurgesazt video to start buying more ethical meat (non torture meat). However, unlike the price claims in the video I'm finding all except beef to be about twice as expensive. I don't make meat a center piece of my meals and I'm not living paycheck to paycheck. But the extra cost isn't minor and is felt, so there is an internal struggle related to continuing.
When I do something wrong, I'm also doing something right,
For whatever I do at the time will always shed some light.
Right and wrong are relative, they shift with every clue,
In every stumble, I find grace, and learn something new.
@Shoshin1
Well said. Hard to fathom that one that is two...
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/category/good-talks/good-gardening/
So my gardening includes death and destruction of 'weeds, insects, etc. I am not as skilful as @How more pragmatic. Maybe.
I must admit to paying a gardener to come in and prune, tidy and clear the place. It had been neglected for a number of years…
1. Gonna turn off the computer and meditate
2. See above
3. Same as 1.