The only intention that doesn't lead to suffering is the intention to be awake. ~ Warren Lang
We try to turn a profit in practice—to get something from it. We try to get better. We try to get enlightenment. We try to get seen for doing it right. What are we being stingy with here? Wholehearted surrender to the present moment or to what is. Think how stingy we are with that. Think how tightly we hold on. We also imagine that in practicing, what we will “get” will be ours—which is, of course, the greatest delusion of all.
- Sensei Nancy Mujo Baker, "On Not Being Stingy"
- Sensei Nancy Mujo Baker, "On Not Being Stingy"
When Death Comes by Mary Oliver
When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox
when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,
and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.
When it's over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox
when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,
and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.
When it's over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.
Walk Slowly
It only takes a reminder to breathe,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens,
a moment to be still, and just like that,
something in me settles, softens,
makes space for imperfection. The harsh voice
of judgment drops to a whisper and I
remember again that life isn’t a relay
race; that we will all cross the finish
line; that waking up to life is what we
were born for. As many times as I
forget, catch myself charging forward
without even knowing where I’m going,
that many times I can make the choice
to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk
slowly into the mystery.
-Danna Faulds
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. ~ Lao Tzu http://t.co/w2KsKPZjN9/s/U-lY
The poems are from Go In and In (Poems from the Heart of Yoga) by Danna Faulds and are below. Thank you to Sue.
LET IT GO
Let go of the ways you thought life
would unfold; the holding of plans
or dreams or expectations--Let it
all go.
Save your strength to swim
with the tide. The choice to fight
what is here before you now will
only result in struggle, fear, and
desperate attempts to flee from the
very energy you long for.
Let go. Let it all go and flow with the grace
that washes through your days whether
you receive it gently or with all your
quills raised to defend against invaders.
Take this on faith: the mind may never
find the explanations that it seeks, but
you will move forward nonetheless.
Let go, and the wave's crest will carry
you to unknown shores, beyond your
wildest dreams or destinations.
Let it all go and find the place of rest and
peace, and certain transformation.
WATING FOR SAFETY
Fern,
furled,
a question mark
waving in the wind,
holding to the fetal curl
and the safety of the winter womb.
Nothing,
not the gentle
kiss of sun,
nor stream voice,
calling, can coax
that frond
to unfurl
one single moment
before it does.
LET IT GO
Let go of the ways you thought life
would unfold; the holding of plans
or dreams or expectations--Let it
all go.
Save your strength to swim
with the tide. The choice to fight
what is here before you now will
only result in struggle, fear, and
desperate attempts to flee from the
very energy you long for.
Let go. Let it all go and flow with the grace
that washes through your days whether
you receive it gently or with all your
quills raised to defend against invaders.
Take this on faith: the mind may never
find the explanations that it seeks, but
you will move forward nonetheless.
Let go, and the wave's crest will carry
you to unknown shores, beyond your
wildest dreams or destinations.
Let it all go and find the place of rest and
peace, and certain transformation.
WATING FOR SAFETY
Fern,
furled,
a question mark
waving in the wind,
holding to the fetal curl
and the safety of the winter womb.
Nothing,
not the gentle
kiss of sun,
nor stream voice,
calling, can coax
that frond
to unfurl
one single moment
before it does.
