The moon in her poetry is rarely just the moon. She sees only enough to keep moving. Often, wisdom lies not in seeing the destination but in taking the next step. Darkness can be part of the journey,
From darkness
into a darker path
I must make my way;
Faintly shine from afar,
moon on the mountain’s edge.
Izumi Shikibu, 976–1030 CE,
The fundamental human condition: we are surrounded by things that are silent and still.
Look: trees simply are; the houses
we live in still remain in place
We alone
fly past all things, as fugitive as the wind.
And all things conspire to keep silent about us, partly from shame, perhaps, and partly as unutterable hope.
Rilke Duino Elegies (Second Elegy)
Rest isn’t the opposite of work – it’s the ground we return to within work, letting go of fixed outcomes, letting go of fears.
The practice is
to restore yourself to the here and now,
so that you can rest.
The deepest kind of rest is the letting go of views, of hopes, of fears, and of the idea of a self.
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation.
A wise person sees:
Feelings arise and vanish instantly, like bubbles.
Thoughts seem strong, but there’s nothing substantial inside,
just like a hollow banana tree.
The Buddha, Sutta of 46 Chapters
Paradise is not a place. It is a condition of the heart.
Some travel to all the world’s wondrous places and never truly arrive, for they go with a clenched heart that blinds them to the shallowed muting of their unusual life.
Others stay home yet arrive over and again to the most enchanting places and discoveries. For they live with a wide open heart that journeys ever beyond the body as a spirit in love with life.
Open your phenomenal heart. Travel beautifully.
Jaiya John, Fragrance After Rain
Live in each season as it passes;
breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit,
and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
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