"Make Positive Effort for the Good"

This morning I meditated. My night had been restless and my sleep interrupted. I got up early feeling tired and very grumpy. But meditating usually yields something good.

While meditating I remembered the phrase I first learned from Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind: "Make positive effort for the good" -- advice from her Zen teacher, Katagiri Roshi. In my mind's eye I can see Natalie feeling completely bludgeoned by a cold, dragging herself out of bed to do something good in the world -- to write, to say "hello "to a neighbor, to lift her head up and see the sky. I figure if she can do it, I can too.

I've had this little gem with me for 20 years. It still works.