a perfect moment
The longer I live, the harder it is to discern between the stronger emotions. They all spill into each other where they begin. The longer I go, though, the more I can tell between not feeling & feeling. Not feeling puts me on the sideline, makes the world black & white, & me, a dry shade of gray. Only feeling keeps me in the scene, keeps the colors wet. The other day was very wet. I went for groceries & the old man packing bags was staring off. I knew by his heavy, silver eyes that he was a widower, & just as he lifted my no-fat cottage cheese, he was seeing her floating somewhere before him, & the soda & the swordfish & the English muffins were piling up as the black belt kept moving, & I gently took the cottage cheese from his hand, & he returned, looking at me, a bit dizzy to still be here. I’ve worked so long & hard to be able to feel my way into the lives of others, only to realize we are all this way, & it is not just sad, it is more than sad. It is the ground of heart where we all meet. I left the store that day feeling more than one heart should, & couldn’t tell if I was in trouble or on holy ground…..Mark Nepo
in the moonlight, we are surprised by all that we feel, all that we couldn’t see in the bright, harsh day…..to know we are trapped is to find freedom….walking in the night & waiting for another chance to awaken to the day….
the loss of the stone-bright day….
When you awaken your heart…you find, to your surprise, that your heart is empty. What are you, who are you, where is your heart? If you search for the awakened heart, if you put your hand through your rib cage & feel for it, there is nothing there except for tenderness. You feel sore & soft, & if you open your eyes to the rest of the world, you feel tremendous sadness. It occurs because your heart is completely exposed. It is this tender heart of the warrior that has the power to heal the world….Chogyam Trungpa
take the pearl of your most inward kindnesses & tuck it into a special chamber of the heart….the harmony of a pearl can heal us from within the remarkable tests of suffering, the bitterness of compassion settled & soft…..
