Following the dharma in the 21st century

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Buddha

Well all my excitement for the Young Women’s Retreat was well founded, it was an absolutely wonderful weekend, so inspiring to meet so many other young women with the same views, vision and interests.  To make things even more magical we had absolutely LOADS of snow during Saturday, completely blanketing the surrounding area in beautiful white snow around 10cm deep!  It was really lovely to meet up with people who had, until then, been “a friend on facebook” or an MSN contact!  Some really strong friendships have developed as a result of the young people’s initiative and I hope they continue to flourish!

Tara log cabin

Rather snowy!

The retreat came at just the right time in my life, and made me stop and think about how I was and the way I was living my life – and also to realise that I needed to make some pretty major shifts in my lifestyle, which I had been ignoring and putting off for far too long!

As a result, I’ve handed in my notice at my job and have managed to find a part time, 3 days a week job which is involved with corporate health and well being.  I’ve also confirmed what I had felt for some time, that Buddhism was indeed the path that I want to follow and am hoping to become more involved at the centres near me.  I’m currently reading quite a lot of text and working towards a daily practice, and while there are days when there just aren’t enough hours in the day, it is generally going very well and I am learning and developing in myself.

I also now have my own Dharma Bookcase thanks to the generosity of some good friends, who no longer had use for the bookcase.  My shrine is developing nicely and I’m generally quite happy with how things are progressing.

Dharma Bookcase

My shrine

While the winds of change are blowing rather hard now, I am confident that the changes are all for the better and am excited by what the future might hold!