"A Lamp in the Darkness"

I found a short excerpt from Jack Kornfield's book at the Huffpost which I really like. He speaks of awakening to the wonder and love of the everyday, and of going through the experiences of difficulty and pain and coming out the other side to the awareness of which the Buddha spoke:


"The world offers perennial renewal, in the grass that pushes itself up between the cracks in the sidewalk, in the end of every torrential rainstorm and in every newly planted window box, in every unexpected revolution, with each new morning’s light. This unstoppable spirit of renewal is in you. Trust it. Learn that it flows through you and all of life. The ultimate gift of our suffering is to teach us how to properly grieve, heal, and learn compassion. But finally we come to the realization that in any moment we can step out of the body of fear and feel the great winds that carry us, to awaken to the eternal present. It is within our power to experience the liberation of the heart offered to all by the Buddha in these words:"

Live in joy,
In love,
Even among those who hate.

Live in joy,
In health,
Even among the afflicted.

Live in joy,
In peace,
Even among the troubled.

Look within.
Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the Way.

   This sounds like a book I'd like to check out. Mindfulness is a took which helps us awaken from the nightmare which is both our personal history and that of the world, and he seems to speak of that here. And the words of the Buddha: "Look within." That is the place where stillness and freedom can be found. As they say in the Program: happiness is an inside job.