Remembered this poem on Saturday night when we had a clear night and a very bright “Supermoon”, and even an epic victory over the English in rugby is part of the 10,000 things.
Sitting alone in peace before these cliffs
the full moon is heaven’s beacon
the ten thousand things are all reflections
the moon originally has no light
Han Shan
….but like all the truths about mindfulness, it does not mean it is easy. However, it does help us to recall that meditation is a simple human capacity, not a strange esoteric exercise. It can be a useful reminder when we are busy or stressed. At times like that, the brain moves into survival mode, and increases its thinking about – and analysis of – the “problem” It becomes convinced that the best way to work with stress is to get busy and think a lot. When this happens, you can find yourself constantly replaying something in your mind or dwelling on the ins and outs of it all, even through the night. This active brain resists moments of inactivity, such as meditation, seeing it as being less useful. Ironically, it may be the most useful thing that can be done in these periods and taking the pressure off doing it, by seeing it as being as natural as breathing, can help.
Take a few minutes each day to step out of conventional clock time. Taking this break may lead to a breakthrough, since many of our best ideas arise when we let our minds relax and wander. By relaxing our focus, we can be open to creative impulses, surprising questions, and, at times, robust answers. Each day, for the next seven days, spend ten minutes on not focusing. Just let your mind wander; get up, move to a different space. Be aware of your breath, your body, your walking; notice your surroundings as though seeing things through fresh eyes. Bring a heightened sense of awareness to sensations of sight, sound, smell, and touch.
Marc Lesser
To be a part, that is fulfillment for us:
to be integrated with our solitude into a state that can be shared.
Rilke
Knowing ourselves, in our aloneness and weakness, is the foundation for loving others. It saves us from the false belief that our identity comes from what we are in other people’s eyes or from what we can do. It also helps us get beyond the caution that can sometimes accompany reaching out. You know the instinctive fear: if we show our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, then we will get trampled on and hurt. However it is not our strength that is the foundation of community, friendship and love, but a true confidence in who we are, including our failings.
Forgiveness is the name for love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.
Henri Nouwen
There is a wisdom in having moments of quiet in our lives. Learning to stay – being by ourselves and being comfortable with that – is a prerequisite for all work and any relationships. We are good at distracting ourselves and a good number of the problems which we experience are due to this capacity for distraction. We can easily identify with the flow that these activities cause. But there is deeper part of ourselves. When we stop working, slow down and stop moving, and let go of distracting ourselves, we are getting in touch with the silence within and a fundamental truth about our human condition:
All human beings are alone. No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude is peaceful. Loneliness makes us cling to others in desperation; solitude allows us to respect others in their uniqueness and create community.
Letting our aloneness grow into solitude and not into loneliness is a lifelong struggle. It requires conscious choices about whom to be with, what to study, how to pray, and when to ask for counsel. But wise choices will help us to find the solitude where our hearts can grow in love.
Henri Nouwen
Mindfulbalance 