The strong winds on Sunday night blew the last leaves from the trees and they stand bare in the garden, clearly seen against the grey sky. Snow fell on the tops of the nearby Jura mountains. I was involved in a retreat over the weekend where we reflected on Kabir’s beautiful words “Throw away all thoughts of imaginary things and stand firm in that which you are“. However, as we all experience from time to time, that firmness does not always seem so near, and we can be blown by winds of doubt and self-criticism. It feels cold and we think we are alone. In moments like these we have to be patient. We cannot see the whole picture or understand why things are happening. When moments seem dark we can identify with what is going on in our emotions and get fixed there. We settle quickly into the negative feelings about ourself or our life, turn in on ourselves and close down. However, the theme of the weekend, and the weather outside, remind us to keep our roots deep in the goodness underneath, and not in what passes through the mind. We do not need to hold on to what is happening. Some kinds of unknowing are right. We trust even if we cannot see. In waiting, even in difficult moments, what is coming to pass is gradually revealed.
I prefer winter …… when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.
Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.
Andrew Wyatt, American Painter
Mindfulbalance 
Karl, yes, Kabir quote, a gentle reminder. I will pass that one along to my readers today, as well. Thanks for sharing.
We settle quickly into the negative feelings about ourself or our life, turn in on ourselves and close down. However, the theme of the weekend, and the weather outside, remind us to keep our roots deep in the goodness underneath, and not in what passes through the mind. We do not need to hold on to what is happening.
These is the thought I will be coming back to during my busy day today. My little in-work retreat, I am printing it to put it next to my conmputer. Thanks Karl!
Marta
I may borrow the quote from Andrew Wyatt for a post I will be making in the next few days. It really mirrors what my words and painting mean ‘to say’,
Beautiful words. I like especially how your writing is succinct and to the point.
I think what passes through the mind is exactly what it says it is… it passes. It is not permanent, and not always based in reality. When things my emotions become too overwhelming, I like to base myself in reality and notice what is really going on around me (“I feel wind on my face, there is a woman in a green jacket walking by, the sunlight is dim”) as opposed to what I am feeling. There is nothing good or bad about that reality… it just is. It’s Tathata 😉
But I won’t discount the power of imagination. My most recent post on my own blog talks about how I use my imagination to alter my state of mind – http://thatwhichreallyis.blogspot.com
Negative or dark feelings are a great barometer. They indicate the distance between where we are and where we believe we should be. If we can just notice them without judgement, accept their presence, embrace them (as Thich Nhat Hanh so wisely advises) like small children, and have compassion for them, they often transform of their own accord.
Thank you for another wonderful post!