Harmony within and out

From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion.

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. Cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. This helps remove whatever fears or insecurities we may have and gives us the strength to cope with any obstacles we encounter. It is the ultimate source of success in life.
Tenzin Gyatso; The Fourteenth Dalai Lama Compassion and the Individual

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The small wall-area above my desk is covered with the photos of my loved ones, the inspirational quotes, the images of places, artwork and objects that I like and the crocheted gauge test samples. These small objects and pictures are there to remind me that my life is full of beauty; that I’m lucky enough to lead peaceful, comfortable existence; that many of my dreams came true and to inspire me to keep on working hard towards my goals. From time to time I update it by adding new things and removing some of the old ones.

Today I added the above photo. I took this photograph in Bangkok in September 2004 and currently to me it represents harmony and spirituality. I finished this post with “I’m far from the perfection I seek, but I’m glad that I am seeking.” And few days later I started wondering if harmony would be a better word to describe the state I dream of achieving. The harmony within myself and with my surroundings is easier to define than a vague state of perfection and therefore is easier to search for. And now every time I look up from my work the image will be there to remind me to strive to become more compassionate and to treasure the flitting moments of feeling at peace with myself and my place in the universe.