Tag: Nature

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Karl Duffy1 Comment

harvest

Some days or weeks we work with limited vision. The true meaning is hidden. We rely on inner values and on the commitment we have made.

Bringing in a full harvest from human effort has always been difficult, because what is worth bringing in is almost always hidden from us: think of the hard, protected kernel of the wheat amidst a waving sea of gold, or the the walnut nestled in its dense, unyielding skin of green and white, think of how common a much-wanted, simple understanding is needed, hidden by our complex thoughts; or the attempt to fully forgive when even forgiving a little seems to be the last thing we want to do; and lastly, the wish to love and to be loved, when loving is what we are most afraid to do.  

David Whyte, Letters from the House

Trust

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File:BBGMonarchButterflyWings.jpg

With no mind, flowers lure the butterfly;
With no mind, the butterfly visits the blossoms.
Yet when flowers bloom, the butterfly comes;
When the butterfly comes, the flowers bloom.

Ryokan, 1758 – 1831, Buddhist monk, hermit and poet.

The vulnerability of life

Karl Duffy1 Comment
leaf9
Things are changing all the time. This makes us seek who and what will anchor us in all of this change:
Life is precious. Not because it is unchangeable, like a diamond, but because it is vulnerable, like a little bird.
To love life means to love its vulnerability, asking for care, attention, guidance, and support.
Life and death are connected by vulnerability.
The newborn child and the dying elder both remind us of the preciousness of our lives.
Let’s not forget the preciousness and vulnerability of life during the times we are successful and popular.
Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey

Sunday Quote: Spacious

Karl Duffy1 Comment

sunrise

The world is vast

and the body and breath are spacious

when we are at ease with ourselves and others

Michael Stone, from his lovely book, Awake in the World

photo of early morning sun in Glendalough, on a beautiful Saturday in October which reminded me of Rilke :

I would like to step out of my heart

and go walking beneath the enormous sky.

Saturday in October: Loosening

Karl Duffy3 Comments

File:Caldon Canal Near Endon - geograph.org.uk - 317647.jpg

When things in work start to overwhelm me and cause a struggle, or when someone does something that causes fear,  I notice that two things tend to happen – I get a type of tightening or contraction in the body  and a feeling of speeding up in the mind. So this poet’s petition is a nice one to echo on this Saturday morning: Let the day begin gently, and let space enter in, expand and slow me down. Let the leaves fall one by one, and may their letting go permeate into my bones. 

We do not have to learn how to contract; we find it easy to turn away, to freeze and to blame…

We do have to practice letting go and holding the heart open, to learn how to soften:

O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!

Robert Frost, from October.

photo david mastin

True self, false self

Karl Duffy1 Comment

lake-glendalough

We spend a lot of time creating suffering through imagining scenarios that never actually come to pass. These can be with us even as we get up in the morning. One way the different traditions try to help with this is by encouraging us to drop into the natural calm that lies beneath the restless thoughts – our natural wakefulness, our “true face”. Being mindful is something intrinsic to the mind, not something foreign we are trying to bring in. It is like sinking below the ripples on the surface of the lake and finding calm depths beneath.

In this high place, it is as simple as this,
leave everything you know behind.

Step toward the cold surface, say the old prayer of rough love
and open both arms.

Those who come with empty hands
will stare into the lake astonished
there in the cold light, reflecting cold snow

the true shape of your own face

David Whyte, Tilokal Lake