There's a stillness to this time of year. The explosion of growth is over. The growing things are maturing. Like me. I am enjoying doing nothing, just taking it all in at a cellular level. Summer is still in the saddle, but there are hints of Fall to come in the few yellowing leaves on the trees.
What I've most loved about this summer is this restfulness. Having spent most of my life doing, doing nothing is like a new skill. It leads to spurts of doing that are extraordinarily effective. Meanwhile, doing from a sense of "should" or "ought" - so clearly not productive - is losing its hold on me.
The garden is overflowing in flowers, fruit, weeds and a few veggies - this year, only peas and beans. The plants are crowded but seem happy to get along. The birds and squirrels enjoy the huge trees creating a wildlife zone in my yard, and those of the neighbors on either side. Life is always pressing in, saying, "See? See?"
I'm listening. I'm looking. Breathing in, breathing out. Doing nothing.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Smelling the Roses
This is a phrase that in common parlance speaks to enjoying what's around you - your surroundings, your family, your co-workers and all you deal with - enjoying life - your life, not someone else's.
When you smell a rose, you bend down, since rose bushes are mostly smaller than you are. You breathe in the delicate fragrance given by the rose, and you fill your whole body and awareness with that fragrance. At that moment, you are connected with that rose - sharing a lovely reality, just you and the rose. The rose asks nothing of you and gives you beauty to look at and at times, a nourishing fragrance that can last forever in your memory.
Imagine how delighted the rose is, to have your attention and to share this moment with you. Imagine you, in this moment, learn something from the rose about how to be in your own life. Imagine you take that learning into your heart - that you too are beautiful and that everyone and every thing on earth is blessed by your presence.
We are all wonderful at things we've already learned to do. Being like a rose is worth what it takes to integrate it.
When you smell a rose, you bend down, since rose bushes are mostly smaller than you are. You breathe in the delicate fragrance given by the rose, and you fill your whole body and awareness with that fragrance. At that moment, you are connected with that rose - sharing a lovely reality, just you and the rose. The rose asks nothing of you and gives you beauty to look at and at times, a nourishing fragrance that can last forever in your memory.
Imagine how delighted the rose is, to have your attention and to share this moment with you. Imagine you, in this moment, learn something from the rose about how to be in your own life. Imagine you take that learning into your heart - that you too are beautiful and that everyone and every thing on earth is blessed by your presence.
We are all wonderful at things we've already learned to do. Being like a rose is worth what it takes to integrate it.
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