If there was a thorn in my heart, I would “flop around like a fish in shallow water.” (Attadanda Sutta). My faith would waiver, waiting for an ocean of pleasant experiences to arrive, so I could swim comfortably again.
What if I already have EVERYTHING I need to wake up? What if you do, too? Would you embrace all experience - pleasant, unpleasant and neutral as gifts toward your awakening?
What does it mean to lean into the unfolding mystery of life - anger, fear, sadness, joy…the full spectrum of our human experience?
There are so many ways to process this inquiry. Today, I will leave you with a short haiku reflection.
Hiking Meditation
footsteps cradled by soft earth
prana exchange with the forest
the sound of joy
I need to slow down, make space in the schedule and fullness of my life to hear what is screaming for attention from within. I need to meet it with some aspect of love (kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity).
Maybe you do, too. Here is one way to do so.
However you are meeting the life you have been given, may you find exactly what you need to wake up.