everyday zazen

it is a warm sunny day,a gentle breeze blowing off the sea. and i am unwell. so do i allow the state of my health to prevent me from enjoying this day?

in this moment my life is as this. a gift to be received with gratitude.

my daughter is moving to another country and i will miss her. i don’t want her to go. but love is not a desire to possess. it is an expression of selflessness.

time to let go. and help her move.

clinging to the past denies this precious now the space to manifest itself. what waste!

what is this mysterious process we call ageing? why can i no longer do the things i once could? when did i cease to be a young,strong,man?

why am i continually surprised? the signs of impermanence are clear. but still i continue to ignore the passing.

‘ the point of meditation is to look deeply into things in order to be able to see their nature.’ thich nhat hanh

around us are the signs of impermanence. yet we choose to ignore our own. but,sooner or later,we will be faced with the fact that we are impermanence. death comes to us all.

but there is this precious now and we all can live it fully.

my neighbour said,’i just have to know’. but we don’t have to know. and seeking after knowledge can be very risky. what we seek for is usually verification of our own viewpoint. what we seek is not knowledge but proof that we are right.

better to be willing not to know. what we need to do can the be revealed.

i am not tired,not unhappy. i don’t have a headache and i am not hungry or thirsty. my family and friends are well. yet i feel restless and i don’t know why.

what i do know is that if i respond to this feeling i will give it life,existence. just leave it alone. don’t touch. be still. it will pass.

relationships,for most of us,bring pleasure,fulfilment. but also suffering. for me,suffering arises when the behaviour of another falls short of my expectations. and the suffering continues to the extent i cling to this view seen from the perspective of my ’self’.

let go and suffering ceases.

a wonderful week away in wonderful company. lots of memories and pictures to remind me of the climbs we did. but where does reminiscing end and clinging begin?

the past is past,gone already. let it go and embrace today.