Saying Yes to Life: (Even the Hard Parts)

Ezra Bayda

Jul 2005 · Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Presented in simple yet strikingly memorable language, the messages in Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts) provide inspiration for each day, and invitations to go more deeply into the spiritual life. These gems of wisdom range from page-long reflections to simple aphorisms. The themes presented emphasize the importance of making peace with life's paradoxes, opening to the unwanted, finding the happiness in difficulty, and living always with what's here. Page after page reveals truths that can be put into action in the moment, yet also unfold ever more deeply with thorough examination. Insightful and never convoluted, Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts) is a great companion for life's long journey.

About the author

Ezra Bayda has been meditating since 1970. He was authorized to teach Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck in 1998, and now lives, writes and teaches at the Zen Center of San Diego. Thomas Moore was born May 28, 1779, in Dublin. Moore entered Trinity College in 1794, even though he was Roman Catholic, on the college rolls he was listed as Protestant. Moore's friend and classmate Robert Emmet, was a member of the United Irishmen, a group dedicated to freeing Ireland from the English. Emmet's involvement in various rebellions and his subsequent execution, recur in Moore's work. Moore managed to stay in favor with the English, while writing in favour of Irish independence and produced some severely critical works about the treatment of the Irish peasants by their landlords. In 1799, Moore went to England to study law. He became a social success in London, due in part to his friendship with the earl of Moira. This led to the publication of the translated Odes of Anacreon, dedicated to the Prince of Wales. In 1803, Lord Moira's influence arranged a post for Moore in Bermuda, but he appointed a deputy soon after his arrival there, toured America and Canada, writing poetry all the way and returned to England to publish the work. Moore was a well-known singer, and his publisher suggested a book of Irish songs to the music of Sir John Stevenson. The Irish Ballads were a resounding success, and paid well for the next 25 years. Another successful field for Moore was political satire and his main target was his former patron, the Prince Regent. Moore became friends with Lord Byron and the two corresponded constantly. They played off of each other until Byron's death, where upon Moore became the executor of Byron's Memoirs. In 1835, Moore was granted a Civil List pension, which equaled £300 a year. He was also elected to the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1842, he received the Order of Merit from Frederick the Great of Prussia. Moore lapsed into senile dementia in in 1849 and died a few years later on February 25, 1852.