THINK

WORDS LIKE LIGHT

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

         As my 80 years have passed, I have slowly realized, happily, that thinking is at the very heart of life, of reality, of the universe itself. Truly, I cannot get away from the process of thinking. Every single moment is actually a thought – a brand new opening and movement of consciousness, of awareness. Everything that happens, happens in consciousness. True, there do seem to be many ‘things’ outside of me, but it’s clear to me now that they actually exist within consciousness, or awareness – and not ‘my’ awareness, but the boundless awareness of life itself, of the ceaseless and mysterious universe itself. It’s fun for me now to picture the universe itself pondering and deliberating, and me as part of that thoughtful, ongoing process, participating in a vast and beautiful and endless mental exercise called ‘life’. Life, I see now, when I’m not lost in daydreams, is an adventure in thinking. New thoughts are constantly arising and sailing along in their wondrous freshness, and when I’m carefully watching, I see that I am always sailing with them. Each moment is never ‘things’, but always thoughts, and my job – lucky for me – is to stay still and observe with appreciation this astounding mental spectacle. 

WHAT HE WAS THINKING

Tonight 
these trees
may shelter some lost birds.
Their leaves may allow life 
to be a gift again to those birds, 
a treasure
they could take home to their nest.
Tonight, 
he was thinking,
the timeless stars 
might display their light 
in flashes of splendor,
so that sorrowing children
might stare up and soothe themselves
with the reassurance
that life, like a soft broom,
will sweep the sorrow away.
Tonight 
there is simplicity
in the way my window closed
when I pushed it down,
just as there is simplicity
in the way the moon 
swings out from the trees 
to give its signal 
that worries should now
be set on the surface of rivers
and allowed to sink, 
for night and its holiness has come. 
Tonight,
he was thinking, 
some immense happiness
might be hurrying toward me
through the darkness, 
even as I sit here
in this small room
on this 
small, 
stunning 
planet.