On Long Pond, Belgrade Lakes, Maine
I want to say something about the preciousness of friendship—which truly is an unfathomable treasure of life.
Category: Joy
Would you name curiosity as an essential ingredient of the spiritual life? It surely is if you’re on the Buddhist path.
This time of year I CRAVE citrus! Especially oranges. That clean, bright, exhilarating color and flavor combine to make an utterly charming taste thrill.
My suggestion: don’t let this pass you by! Savor this perfect mindful eating experience each and every time. Be fully present to the delight! To the color, the shimmer, the scent, and to the way the light falls on the oranges. Splendid!
As I started on my walk last Sunday, it hit me: This is a miracle! All of it! The sky, the trees, the light, the squirrels, the chilly air.
I took notes.
At the end of the day, when I haven’t an ounce of energy left and I’m emptied out like a seashell (and yet dinner is still to be made), I have a habit of going walking.
No, it doesn’t make sense. So I ignore my thoughts, which say, “Go lie on the couch with the excellent book you are reading,” and instead grab my key and just go.
Walking, I’m open like a Mason jar to whatever will come. All 6 sense doors are awake and alive: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind. And I would also say, heart. When robins stand stiffly alert at my approach, staring at me bravely right in the eye, I look back with eyes filled with love. Tenderly, I bring the lilac bloom closer, smelling with rapture, one hundred percent present.
