WORDS LIKE LIGHT 

Saturday, October 2, 2021

CERTAIN

            Some truths are certain and sure, and today I can live an unshaken life because of those truths. It is beyond question, for instance, that the present moment is the only moment that ever exists. Search where I will, I can never find any moment other than right now, nor any place other than right here. I can think about other times and other places, but it is indisputable that they always exist only in my thoughts, which abide only in the eternal present, right here and now. It is also incontestable that the present moment and everything in it – which is everything –  has no boundaries. The present – including me and the desk I’m sitting at and Delycia in the next room and farmers in China and flowers in central Louisiana – goes on and on forever. Right here and right now, forever, there are no boundaries whatsoever, no beginnings or endings. Any boundaries that seem real exist only in my thoughts. This is an unequivocal truth. And so … what all this leads to is the amazing and certain truth that separation and struggle, which seem to exist everywhere I look, actually exist only in my thoughts. In truth, if there are no boundaries anywhere, then there can be no separations, and if there are no separations, there are no struggles or conflicts, and therefore no fears.  

            These are sure-fire, sovereign truths. If I’m smiling right now, feeling sure and unassailable, that is certainly understandable.  

IN CERTAIN, SD, USA

In Certain, South Dakota, 
the smallest flowers seem sure of themselves, 
and silence is indisputably strong.
Every street 
unquestionably knows where it's going, 
and the gifts of each moment 
seem predestined to be great.  
In this trustworthy town, 
smiles are reliably lovely, 
sorrows assuredly bring wisdom,
and each moment 
is guaranteed to happen. 

Visiting Certain, SD, 
is sure to bring certitude and confidence, 
and standing still in astonishment occasonally 
will be inescapable.

And finally, here’s a slide show of some scenes from our walk this morning in beautiful Elm Grove Cemetery …