Find Your Middle Ground

* Tao Inspiration ☯ – The game is never over

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wandering monk

There are no fixed limits
Time does not stand still.
Nothing endures,
Nothing is final.

You cannot lay hold
Of the end or the beginning.

He who is wise sees near and far
As the same,
Does not despise the small
Or value the great:
Where all standards differ
How can you compare?
With one glance
He takes in past and present,
Without sorrow for the past
Or impatience with the present.

All is in movement.
He has experience
Of fullness and emptiness.
He does not rejoice in success
Or lament in failure

The game is never over
Birth and death are even
The terms are not final.

~ Thomas Merton

 

The game is never over … when we accept and surrender to it all 💛

 

Merton, Thomas (2010-03-30). The Way of Chuang Tzu (Second Edition) (pp. 85-86). New Directions. Kindle Edition.

27 responses to “* Tao Inspiration ☯ – The game is never over”

  1. Ann Koplow Avatar
    Ann Koplow

    ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. lorriebowden Avatar
    lorriebowden

    Hi Val…Happy Memorial Day! Thank you for the peaceful words here…they caress my soul ♡ Hope all is wonderful with you 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Thanks so much Lorrie. Each new day brings gratitude and wonder 💕

      Like

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      1. lorriebowden Avatar
        lorriebowden

        Yes! Both WONDERFUL feelings, Val. Peace ♡

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  3. Hariod Brawn Avatar
    Hariod Brawn

    Words to savour, and to contemplate upon. Seriously profound – one can never quite get the inner meaning of such words, but one can stand and hear the echoes of meaning, perhaps? This is all that words can do, it seems – yet what words are these! I love that book, and have it beside my bed constantly. H ❤

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Thank you Hariod 💛
      This is on my kindle along with others books that I enjoy pausing and dipping in to. There is a sense of knowing, yet a feeling of space and so much more to open up to.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  4. Louise Gallagher Avatar
    Louise Gallagher

    One of my favourites.

    ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Thank you Louise!

      Like

      Reply
  5. Paul Handover Avatar
    Paul Handover

    Very profound. Yet, for most of us, and certainly including yours truly, those wise words are beyond reach. Maybe I’m being too tough on myself? Possibly a constant reminder of these wisdoms does eventually leave a paw print.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      That’s what I am hoping for Paul. The more we tune into this way of thinking and being, the more we live it. 🐾

      Liked by 2 people

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  6. Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature Avatar
    Walking My Path: Mindful Wanderings in Nature

    Lovely, Val.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Ah yes. Thank you Mary 💕

      Like

      Reply
  7. Tiny Avatar
    Tiny

    This is so beautiful and so true, Val. And comforting too.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Thank you Helen. Embracing life fully as it is without judgement is something to aspire to. I have a long way to go ❣

      Like

      Reply
  8. Jill Weatherholt Avatar
    Jill Weatherholt

    ❤ this, Val!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      So glad it hit the spot 💕

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  9. nrhatch Avatar
    nrhatch

    Absorbing these words is the way of acceptance.
    the what is, is
    this too shall pass.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      This too shall pass … Yet never end.
      The juxtaposition of opposingwords makes me pause too!

      Like

      Reply
  10. Carol Ferenc Avatar
    Carol Ferenc

    Comforting words, Val.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Thank you Carol. There is comfort in the acceptance. xo

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. Healing Grief Avatar
    Healing Grief

    “All is in movement” Beautiful reminder Val 💚

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      I love this part too. Thank you Karen 💛

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  12. Rajagopal Avatar
    Rajagopal

    Merton’s words are simple on the face of it, yet fathomless in its profundity. There is no near and far, past and present, fullness and emptiness, success and failure, Nevertheless, we permit our lives to be ruthlessly bound by time, swinging pendulum-like between time past and time present, and actions scaled as deemed failures and successes. Over five millennia ago, Krishna’s advice to Arjuna was to attain ‘sthitha prajna’, loosely translated as equanimity in English. Stitha prajna is spiritual intelligence enabling attainment of a stable level of existence, unaffected by the vicissitudes of life, without allowing the mind to get lost in the labyrinth of desires. A few thousand years later, these thoughts resonated in Buddha’s emphasis on impermanence of worldly life, and attaining desirelessness. My namastes to you, Val…

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Thank you Raj from sharing the wisdom of the Gita. You put it so eloquently. My simple western introduction to this deep and expansive place is called finding our middle ground. Namaste 🙏

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  13. David Kanigan Avatar
    David Kanigan

    Wonderful Val

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Val Boyko Avatar
      Val Boyko

      Thank you David 💛

      Like

      Reply
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● About Me

My name is Val Boyko, a dual citizen living near Philadelphia, originally from Scotland.

This blog came to life one morning in 2013.  I woke up with these words in my mind:  “Life is a series of highs and lows. Be grateful for the highs. Be graceful in the lows. And find contentment in your Middle Ground.”

Find Your Middle Ground blog started to explore, reflect, ask deep questions, share insights about awakening, and connect with wonderful people like yourself. Thank you for being here and being such an inspiration.

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