Winds and seasons

Recently I’ve appreciated imaging myself, my life, and my loved one’s lives as like a mountain or tree that stands dignified through the many winds and seasons of change. I pass along a couple of offerings that are helping ground me in greater acceptance of what is, whatever is happening:

1) a “Mountain Meditation” from Ron Siegel's "The Mindfulness Solution' web site that takes only 10 minutes to listen to, and that is strangely settling for me. (I’d love to hear how others respond to it.)

2) this June 8 entry in “The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life you Have”

"Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind.

To be happy, rest like a great tree in the midst of them all."

- Buddha's Little Instruction Book

It helps to remember this. Of course, it’s hard to remember this when feeling blame, loss, or sorrow. But that’s when we need this wisdom the most.

Like everyone, Id’ rather not experience the undercurrents of life, but the challenge is not to shun them, but to accept that over a lifetime we will have our share of them.

Avoiding the difficult aspects of living only stunts our fullness. When we do this, we are like a tree that never fully opens to the sky.

And dwelling on our difficulties only prevents them from going on their way…

The storm by its nature wants to move on, and the tree’s grace is that it has no hands. Our blessing and curse is to learn and relearn when to reach and hold, and when to put our hands in our pockets.

*Stand beside a fully grown tree. Breathe in its wisdom.

*As you watch the tree stay open to wind, feel praise and blame rush you, and try to stand like the tree.

*Breathe deeply, and feel gain and loss circle you and try to open your heart like a branch.

*Breathe slowly, and feel pleasure and sorrow rustle your leaves: try to stand still, holding on to none of it.

- Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening, June 8 entry