What feels right?

I am finding it interesting those things on which I trust my gut and how I tend to trust sources that are more intuitive than those that are "logical".

I am making a decision on working with a company. One company is very large and very solid and most people give them good marks. Everyone referred me to them. I worked with them and had a negative experience, though it was a different department then how I would be working with them now. I also interviewed a small company that aren't very well known. They gave me references which were good. I am inclined to go with the smaller company to try them out, though I worry that I am making a mistake because everyone knows this other company. My head keeps saying the other company is a known quality and I should go there. My heart says: take a risk and go with the small company. I, myself, run a small company and I know how hard it is to compete with a big competitor.

It's interesting to see what I trust and watch what goes through my mind as I attempt to make this decision.

I notice too that in other decisions, I am making them based less on what I know and more on what I feel. I had an acupuncture treatment today and the person has not treated me before but appreciated that I went with how something felt instead of letting the movement scare me. Sometimes knowing how things feel is important.

I'm sure I didn't make this point very well. In summary I am thinking back on my week and realizing how much I have let myself FEEL my way through life. I think we need to balance feeling our way through life and using our brains, but it's also important to know what feels right for each of us. We can't let ourselves be "afraid of the movement" so to speak. Next time it feels right, maybe the risk is worth taking.

Ask the Right Questions

I read an article while I was away in Discover Magazine. It featured a man who has worked with a lot of alternative energy sources. He says that one reason he has these ideas is that he keeps asking questions.

He uses the idea of a drill. Why do we need a drill? To create a hole. So if we can't find a drill, is there another way to create a hole? If we don't have another way to create a hole, why do we need the hole? So you follow that down to the result you want to achieve and perhaps there's a creative answer.

A common worry for people is that they don't have enough money. We all think that if only we made more money we'd be fine. Other people just try and trim their budget and still worry about money. However, we can ask, ultimately, what is it we want from money? Is it the security of knowing that we won't starve or have to live in a shelter? If so, then perhaps we can work on other ways of creating security for ourselves. Certainly we can still pursue more money but if we look at the reasons behind our need for it, perhaps we can create a way to feel secure, rather than just amass large amounts of money. If we just collect money in the hopes that it will bring security, then no amount will ever create enough security for us. If we look at our need for security, we can often feel secure and safe with far less than we would have imagined.

Next time we are worring, perhaps we should look at what is behind the worry and not the small item that bothers us. We might be surprised at what is there. Sometimes the answers may not be apparent to us immediately. Meditation can help bring clarity. It's important to remember to look beyond the easy answer. Sometimes the result that can bring us the most peace is the answer to a completely different question.

Love and Attachment

Love is a wonderful feeling. We never want that other person to leave us. If we allow ourselves to grow so fearful that they will leave us, we may undermine our own growth. We may not speak up for ourselves when our beloved acts poorly or insenstively. We may turn the other way when they act badly towards others. We may find ways to make excuses for them. We may find that we no longer have energy to do the things we love because we are so focused on making another happy. At some point, this need has ceased to be love but has become attachment.

Marc Epstein has a wonderful book on Desire and attachment. The Buddhist belief is that all attachment is bad. Yet, to have a loving close relationship, we need to have some level of attachment and caring. He takes this to an interesting concept of being attached and wanting the other, but understanding the space between us and our beloved and savoring that distance.

Epstein has been a profound writer on Buddhist philosophy from the perspective of a therapist and all his books have much food for thought. Today, on a day where everyone is recognizing love, perhaps the book most appropriate is Open to Desire, his book on embracing a "lust for life", and the attachment that comes from a committed, loving relationship.

Coming Back

Coming back I found several things going on. I got several comments. Thanks for the visits. An interesting comment was from zen unbound who told me about a blog called blogmandu. Apparently they mentioned Creating Peace in there the other day. I want to thank them for that.

Blogmandu is a metablog with updates on English language discussion on blogs about Buddhism. I'm honored to be included in their watch list.

Rebecca over at Death and Taxes gave me a nice plug as well. I think that if I get to mentions over a weekend I'm gone, perhaps I ought to take more time off and just go have fun. Perhaps the universe wants me to ski daily rather than blog daily?

Finally, to something that gave me a laugh the other day. I had a comment from a woman that said my blog was on a list of blogs considered "in the wrong". Some right wing blogs were "in the right." The thing that made me laugh is that most of my favorite political left wing blogs (that are far more "wrong" than this!) were not listed. I think they all deserve a list:

Bring It On is my latest favorite with much political discussion from many different writers. If you've managed to miss this one and you have an interest in US politics, check it out.

The Bulldog Manifesto continues to be a favorite. There was a ski run called Bulldog and while I don't like blacks, I wanted to make a run down it just to tell the Bulldog I had. However, I was riding up with the ski patrol that time and they told me it was the hardest run there--and I'm a whimpy skier.

Common Sense has also grabbed my attention. I used to find that I didn't have the patience for Ken's posts as they are long and very well thought out and thought provoking. However, I've become rather addicted and look for new posts regularly.

I've also been enjoying The Upper Left. It has a lot of general posts about politics and he also has some commentary on political issues that affect the state of Washington.

Who Hijacked Our Country is another blog that I've been reading a lot lately. He's had some interesting discussion and commentary on there as well. As always, I often find good reading in the sidebar links to others!

Keep up the good work everyone.