…dance with endings.
There’s a chance we may stop avoiding the endings once we see them as an invitation to the dance.
Ashton.Gustafson
Pause by the orchid. Listen to the bluebird sing. Be love.
Tag Archives: Ashton Gustafson
At the center of the universe…
…there is a jazz trio: joy, generosity, and reciprocity. The music they make creates endless waves – each named ‘gift’ – upon which we can surf with our lives, relationships, and vocations.
At the center of our individual, small worlds, there is a scorecard and endless games that involve boundaries, rules, fouls, and the tallying of points as time expires.
Which center will you pledge your allegiance to?
Ashton’s Weekend Reads & Listens
I started reading Braiding Sweetgrass this week. Seems like this one will be something special.
Brain Picking’s post, Gardening as Resistance: Notes on Building Paradise, was loaded with wisdom. The older I get, the more I find myself leaving the need to be on the constant quest for knowledge to simply becoming a student of the language and wisdom of dirt, seeds, and trees.
Lastly, I’ve poured myself many a cup of Hiss Golden Messenger this spring. Sanctuary and If It Comes in the Morning are so masterfully done. With each spin they get better. Do yourself a favor and Google the lyrics.
Be open.
Stay curious.
Namaste.
Ashton’s Weekend Read(s)
The art of letter writing is something I’ve noticed leaders do very well. I’ve read two letters to shareholders in the last couple of weeks….one short, one very long. Jeff Bezos ends his final letter as CEO at Amazon in the way only he can. And Jamie Dimon has the sharpest vision I’ve seen.
Godin on Investment and Expenses.
Love and Friendship from the Center for Action and Contemplation.
Red Bird Explains Himself by Mary Oliver.
Good Word of the Day // Doing Without
Episode 259: What Has Been There All Along with Don Oakley – Good / True / & Beautiful | with Ashton Gustafson
Don Oakley is a spiritual teacher and the co-founder and director of the Well Being Retreat Center in Northeast Tennessee, where he and his wife, Patty, have spent nearly two decades creating a space for spiritual exploration, personal transformation, and awakening.Through retreats, teachings, and his growing online presence, Don invites others to move beyond the endless pursuit of self-improvement and rediscover the wholeness, peace, and awareness that have been present within them all along.In this episode of Good, True, & Beautiful, Don joins Ashton Gustafson to explore the difference between being and becoming, the illusion of the separate self, and the liberating realization that our deepest nature is not something we must achieve, but something we can simply recognize.Learn more: wellbeingretreatcenter.org
