Deng Ming-Dao on Beginnings

We talk a lot at the Ministry of Happiness about our journey toward happiness, it’s the beginning of the year and new day for all of us and for some that journey is a new beginning. Here is a piece from Deng Ming-Dao on starting out, good advice no matter what the journey is, have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane

Beginning

This is the moment of embarking
All auspicious signs are in place

In the beginning, all things are hopeful. We prepare ourselves to start anew. Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment: our optimism, our faith, our resolutions, our innocence.

In order to start, we must make a decision. This decision is a commitment to daily self-cultivation. We must make a strong connection to our inner selves. Outside matters are superfluous. Alone and naked, we negotiate all of life’s travails. Therefore, we alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments for experiencing the deepest spiritual essence of life.

Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate to the sound of our purpose.