Quotes About Presence

a generous beacon, a signal flare sent up so that people who are looking for you can easily find you.

A successful manager told me that stopped wearing a watch. She found that the work was so immersive, anchoring it to whatever hour it happened to be was pointless. The watch reminded her of the rigors of appointments and the status quo, while her goal was to be there, right here, right now, in the moment, and to do the work in front of her. The watch had no role in doing that right, so, for now, it's gone.

My friend didn't understand what it means to be in the world, to be present and aware.

161. Chop Wood and Carry Water Layman Pang, more than a thousand years ago, wrote: My daily activities are not unusual, I'm just naturally in harmony with them. Grasping nothing, discarding nothing . . . Drawing water and chopping wood.

Es verdad que guardaba silencio, pero se le quedaba mirando con una mirada transida de ternura. Parecía querer decir: «Cuando tú sufres, Yo sufro a tu lado. Estaré a tu lado hasta el final».

There are certain people in this world who have the ability to make you feel as if you're the only person in the universe who matters to them.

There are certain people in this world who have the ability to make you feel as if you're the only person in the universe who matters to them. Whether it's moment by moment or enough years to count up to a lifetime, they look you in the eyes and smile at you, direct and sincere—and you're smitten.

I began to see, in the place of emptiness, presence. I began to see not only the visible landscape but the invisible one, a landscape in which history, unrecorded and unremembered as it is, had transmuted itself into an always present spiritual dimension.

Let the breath lead the way.

As we practice meditation, we get used to stillness and eventually are able to make friends with the quietness of our sensations.

The art of concentration is a continual letting go. We let go of what is inessential or distracting. We let go of a thought or a feeling, not because we are afraid of it or because we can't bear to acknowledge it as a part of our experience; but, because it is UNNECESSARY.

Training attention through meditation opens our eyes.

If we have nothing material to give, we can offer our attention, our energy, our appreciation. The world needs us. It doesn't deplete us to give.

Every single moment is expressive of the truth of our lives when we know how to look.

It's important to be aware of how multitasking can stimulate us into mindlessness, giving the illusion of productivity while stealing our focus and harming performance. "When you are walking, walk. When you are sitting, sit," is ancient wisdom.

Connecting to your breath when thoughts or images arise is like spotting a friend in a crowd: you don't have to shove everyone else aside or order them to go away; you just direct your attention, your enthusiasm, your interest toward your friend. 'Oh,' you think, 'there's my friend in that crowd. Oh, there's my breath, among those thoughts and feelings and sensations.

The skills available to us through mindfulness make it possible to bring love to our connections with others.

What we learn in meditation, we can apply to all other realms of our lives.

Distraction wastes our energy, concentration restores it.

When we can't let the moment in front of us be what it is (because we're afraid that if it's good, it'll end too soon; if it's bad, it'll go on forever; and if it's neutral, it'll bore us to tears), we're out of balance. Mindfulness restores that balance; we catch our habitual reactions of clinging, condemning, and zoning out, and let them go.

Great fullness of being, which we experience as happiness, can also be described as love. To be undivided and unfragmented, to be completely present, is to love. To pay attention is to

The simple act of being completely present to another person is truly an act of love—no drama is required.

You can access the forces of mindfulness and lovingkindness at any moment, without anyone knowing you're doing it. You don't have to walk excruciatingly slowly down the streets of a major metropolis alarming everyone around you (in fact, please don't);

It is a state of peace to be able to accept things as they are. This is to be at home in our own lives. We see that this universe is much too big to hold on to, but it is the perfect size for letting go. Our hearts and minds become that big, and we can actually let go. This is the gift of equanimity.