I sometimes see, with surprising ease, that I am as free as the boundless sky. Somehow, it occasionally becomes clear to me that I am never separate or isolated, as I often feel, but am always an essential, inseparable, and actually limitless part of the universe. The atoms that make up my mind and body were shaped at the same moment the stars started to shine and earth started to spin, and thus this life of mine has sailed through thousands of years with freedom. My thoughts have flown to me on the freest wings, sailing into my life in casual, slapdash ways from who knows where, and I can sail with those thoughts beyond all boundaries. Usually, I confess, I feel fairly bound up by all kinds of limits, but at certain special times I know I am as free as winds that flow from wherever and to anywhere.
Month: October 2023
SEARCH
A Word Like Light
Monday, October 23, 2023
There are sometimes moments when I have the strange feeling that life is silently conducting a thorough search of me, hunting through me in its soft and loving way, smiling and laughing as it does, and it always makes me hope I can return the favor, and search this blessed, boundless life with a similar liveliness and appreciation. It does seem, sometimes, like I’m a wide-open sky, and life itself – the universe – is quietly studying my endlessness, both to realize and welcome what I am, and also to make some affectionate modifications – perhaps adding more sensitivity toward the play of shadows and sunshine on the windows and walls of our house, perhaps more awareness of the steady arising of acceptance and peace wherever I look. Indeed, searching – or rummaging around – may be one of the central pastimes of this life I am fortunate to be part of. Maybe each moment explores life itself, carefully examining the loveliness of it and excitedly showing it to me. Maybe each moment examines itself to be sure it shines as brightly as possible. Maybe life itself constantly conducts inspections to be sure the wisdom and dominance of every moment is easily seen. I truly hope I can learn some lessons from life about how to search each day for the never-ending treasures lovingly hidden in moment after moment.
IMMINENT
A Word Like Light
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Today I can have the peacefulness that comes when considering what is imminent. In this generous universe of ours, where miracles are constantly nearby and coming fast, it is a pleasure to stand aside in silence and just enjoy the excitement that comes from waiting for the surprising spectacle that’s always on the horizon. For sure, these approaching shows don’t always align with what I was hoping for, but they are what they are, and by accepting them, and respecting them, and immersing myself in their mysteries, I can enjoy the new ‘me’ that is always ‘about to happen’. Something fresh and amazing – but not necessarily what I was hoping for – is always in the wind, always impending with its powers and truths, and I hope I can spend this day sensing the imminent wonders, and being friendly to them all, both the ones I wanted and the ones I definitely didn’t.
LINGER
A Word Like Light
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Today it will be fun to watch the quiet goodness of life patiently lingering around, just strolling beside me and always ready to give me its gifts. Goodness doesn’t push and pull and insist on being noticed, but simply dawdles along, satisfied and silent as it shares its favors. In the midst of the tiresome turmoil of life, kindness steadily cares for me in its loitering kind of way, just hanging out and generously helping me in its slow but persistent fashion. And actually, life itself seems to shuffle along in a carefree way, lingering beside me as if it’s saying, “Hey friend, I’m here, just lollygagging along like a pal. Let me know how I can help.” Today, I’ll be lounging with wisdom and peacefulness and patience, three chums that long ago chose me as one of its good buddies.
INTERRUPT
Friday, October 20, 2023
I’ve often wondered why I so frequently seem to be interrupted when I’m trying to accomplish something, but, when I’m thinking clearly, I see that, actually, it’s impossible for anything to interrupt anything else, because there are truly no separate ‘things’ that can do the interrupting. When it looks like something is barging in on an important activity in my life, the seeming interrupter is, in truth, essentially assisting my activity, though in silent, unnoticed ways. Every adversary, when seen clearly, can be, in fact, a steady and strong supporter of any activity I’m involved in. It’s like, in the ocean, when a seemingly hostile wave doesn’t destroy smaller waves, but simply rolls them softly over with itself to make them both into another fresh and flawless wave. The seeming interrupters in my life will effortlessly transform into astute helpers when I see them in a renewed way, as the latest waves in the inseparable and boundless ocean that life truly is.
UNFOLD
Wednesday, October 18
Every morning, as I make our bed, I have to unfold the beautiful bedspread, which, because I didn’t fold it up neatly when I took it off the night before, can be a complicated process. However, as I carefully open it and slowly spread it out across the bed, I am often reminded of the way life everlastingly unfolds. Each moment, a silent, mystifying expansion happens, and I and the whole universe take part in it. The here-and-now of life is always spreading out in surprising and well-designed ways, sort of the way I try to spread out the bedspread each morning. It sometimes feels like I’m opening the bedspread and revealing its charm once again, and it often occurs to me that life is always opening and spreading itself out in endless, fascinating ways. Perhaps I should practice seeing life that way – as if at every instant a majestic revealing is happening. I make our bed each morning, and life continuously ‘makes’ itself by spreading out its new miracles. Perhaps I should simply watch – and learn something about an unfolding that never ever stops.
PATIENCE
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Patience, I realize more and more clearly, might be the strongest power in the entire universe, and might also be the greatest gift life gives me every day. The most wonderful aspect of patience is that it doesn’t have to work to achieve its goals. It just lets, waits, and watches as the miracle of a moment unfolds, and since I always exist within the miracle of the moment, I can also simply let, wait, and watch, and the grace of the moment will forever reveal itself. There’s a wonderful willingness in our universe, a readiness to do exactly what’s necessary in each instant, and sometimes I sense that readiness inside and all around me. It’s as if everything – trees, streets, sounds around the neighborhoods, even shadowy silence – is softly subordinating itself to the everlasting wishes of each moment. And no work is involved. It’s all about simply staying where we all live – inside the astounding power of patience.
LITTER
It’s fun to think of how littered all of life is, how filled it is with clutter, and – amazingly – the clutter is always beautiful. Each day is an astonishingly confused – and lovely – medley of things, occurrences, thoughts, people, feelings, and discoveries, and I hope I can always join in and enjoy the jumble. It sometimes seems strange to think of litter as being lovely, but truly, all of creation, in a sense, is a wild, whole-hearted jungle of formations and designs, always dancing and repositioning in surprising and perfect ways. My thoughts and feelings are a good example, the way they constantly mix and mingle and shift and transpose. Who can understand the boundless and beautiful rummage of a mind? It’s like trying to understand the shuffle of clouds in the sky, or the clutter of ripples and waves in a river. The truth is that every day – every moment – is a mystifying menagerie, and the best way for me to experience it is to keep my arms wide open in welcome. Yes, all of life is littered, but the litter is good-looking, and loaded with gifts.
EVERYDAY MIRACLES: An Occasional Journal of a Life Lived in Wonder 