The Lord has spread the delicate net of his presence across the world.
See how He gets under your skin, inside your bones.
If you can’t see Him while you’re alive,
don’t expect a special vision once you’re dead.
Lal Ded (Mother Lalla), 1320 – 1392, Kashmiri Hindu poet and mystic
When experience is viewed in a certain way,
it presents nothing but doorways into the soul.
Jon Kabat Zinn
photo Bjoertvedt
Every day we have moments when we get a glimpse into the deep beauty of the world. It may be as simple as a shared conversation, a glass of wine, a walk in nature. However, sometimes we are so preoccupied that we do not have the time or the space to notice.
You know what the issue is with the world?
Everyone wants some magical solution to their problem
and [yet] everyone refuses to believe in magic
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
photo phil champion
I find hospitality to be one of the most significant and most challenging of all the monastic virtues… There is another dimension to this practice which we sometimes might be tempted to forget which is inner hospitality. Within each of us we have a multitude of feelings. experiences, and inner selves that we would prefer to close the door on. We have many inner strangers knocking at the door of your hearts. How many times have I refused to welcome grief or anger, the scary new dream, the embarrassing aspect I want to deny, or the part of myself that doesn’t seem to fit with others?
Christine Valters Paintner, Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house of
reasons and proofs;
The world I live in and believe in
is wider than that. And anyway.
What’s wrong with Maybe?
You wouldn’t believe what once or
twice I have seen. I’ll just
tell you this:
only if there are angels in your head will you
ever, possibly, see one.
Mary Oliver, The World I live in
Inspired by s and with thanks to a-poem-a-day-project.blogspot.ie
photo robinhood22
A similar idea to yesterday’s, this time from the Eastern traditions, to guide us as we “wander” through this day. What we think we know can sometimes get in the way, or close us down, to what is happening before us:
Jizo asked Hogen, “Where are you going?”
“I just wander aimlessly” replied Hogen.
“What is the nature of your wandering,” asked Jizo.
“I don’t know,” replied Hogen.
“Not knowing is the most intimate,” replied Jizo.
And at this Hogen experienced great enlightenment.
Zen Story
One Zen story states, “Not knowing is most intimate.” I understand this to mean that what is most essential is not understood through the filter of our judgments, past knowledge, or memories. When not-knowing helps these to drop away, the result can be a greater immediacy – what some might call being intimate. This practice of beginner’s mind is to cultivate an ability to meet life without preconceived ideas, interpretations, or judgments.
Gil Fronsdal
photo: Pfctdayelise
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