With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
So, today our thoughts are to turn to giant sales and spectacular savings as we rush around the giant Turkey which has become the sales symbol of the season. Store ads are relentless. Internet sites with pop-ups remind us that we are missing out unless we HURRY to Wal-Mart or K-Mart or some other Big Box store waiting anxiously to soak up our money, providing us with the delirious joy of spending that which we really don’t have.
I, like the infamous character in Melville’s short story,” Bartleby the Scrivener,” would prefer not to. Instead, I would prefer to struggle through the process of uncovering that which I am grateful for. It’s not easy, you know, to see that which we take for granted. What does it take to see the invisible, the commonplace?
I believe the place to begin is in our own heart/mind. Sitting quietly at this keyboard, I realize how much I depend on the many lives and hands that makes it possible to have and use such technology as this keyboard, PC, Internet connection, and so on. Such marvels allow us each to come together, albeit, briefly, but none-the-less together. I appreciate the feeling of my heart beating inside my chest and realize at least once daily that I ought not take that beating for granted. I deeply appreciate the touch of my partner in the early mornings as we lay together and talk about our day to come. I appreciate the fact that there is, indeed, a day to come.
We so often and so easily take for granted our everyday life and yet it is precisely in this everyday life that the true dharma resides. While we say it is nothing special so as to avoiding attachment and desire, it is, indeed, something very special: it is our universe and without it, we cease to exist. Likewise, without us, the universe ceases to exist. We are interdependent in a lattice work so intricate and infinite that only when our mind falls away can we see. I am deeply grateful for this.
My suggestion? Don’t go shopping. Stay at home or join friends. Eat, play, and notice.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
So, today our thoughts are to turn to giant sales and spectacular savings as we rush around the giant Turkey which has become the sales symbol of the season. Store ads are relentless. Internet sites with pop-ups remind us that we are missing out unless we HURRY to Wal-Mart or K-Mart or some other Big Box store waiting anxiously to soak up our money, providing us with the delirious joy of spending that which we really don’t have.
I, like the infamous character in Melville’s short story,” Bartleby the Scrivener,” would prefer not to. Instead, I would prefer to struggle through the process of uncovering that which I am grateful for. It’s not easy, you know, to see that which we take for granted. What does it take to see the invisible, the commonplace?
I believe the place to begin is in our own heart/mind. Sitting quietly at this keyboard, I realize how much I depend on the many lives and hands that makes it possible to have and use such technology as this keyboard, PC, Internet connection, and so on. Such marvels allow us each to come together, albeit, briefly, but none-the-less together. I appreciate the feeling of my heart beating inside my chest and realize at least once daily that I ought not take that beating for granted. I deeply appreciate the touch of my partner in the early mornings as we lay together and talk about our day to come. I appreciate the fact that there is, indeed, a day to come.
We so often and so easily take for granted our everyday life and yet it is precisely in this everyday life that the true dharma resides. While we say it is nothing special so as to avoiding attachment and desire, it is, indeed, something very special: it is our universe and without it, we cease to exist. Likewise, without us, the universe ceases to exist. We are interdependent in a lattice work so intricate and infinite that only when our mind falls away can we see. I am deeply grateful for this.
My suggestion? Don’t go shopping. Stay at home or join friends. Eat, play, and notice.
Be well.
No comments:
Post a Comment