Thirty-three days have gone by since I was admitted to the hospital. Since then my bowl has been overflowing with countless acts of kindness. I bow to you in gratitude and love.
Yes love, a concept I’ve struggled with all my life. I’d almost given up until the recent discovery — while standing under some fir trees, in the rain, on a patch of stinging nettles, completely naked [it’s a long story] — that love simply flows through us and everything. It is neither given nor received, not earned or aquired, does not belong to anyone nor depend on a person, a thing, or state of affairs. It cannot be forced or held on to. It simply is — and yet attempts at describing it are best left to poets and mystics.
The journey home takes us into our darkness where we discover our light, the light of the Self* that guides us. This light is always there, always within us, pointing out the path through dreams and inner promptings, a silent unveiling of our journey in which we are able, for a moment, to see more clearly our direction. This is the way, the path that is revealed, the guidance that is given.**
* The self (with a small s) refers to the conditioned, learned, ego-centered self of mind and body. In Buddhist teachings the Self is referred to as the “true” or “original self” and the attachment to self is an illusion that causes unhappiness. ** Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee. (2000). Love is a fire: the Sufi’s mystical journey home. Inverness, CA: The Golden Sufi Center, p. 72. Image: Tibetan nuns and monks on their daily hike to and from chanting services (www.hindustantimes.com).
All the love that is coming your way is but an iota of the love you have showered upon others.
Naked in the rain, eh? I don’t recommend that for January in Victoria!
🙂
“The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.” —Buddha
However, not sure about the way through nettles … or the visual it gives us all 🙂
Peter, hello. Dawn shared a photograph of her and Nancy meeting up in India today and now here I find your post about love and possibly thriving following a recent “attach of the heart” as you say. This must be a time of loose tugging on old memories and connections for me. Beautiful to read your words again and a pleasure to ever-so-lightly hold your gaze today through your post. Thank you for being you and your giving of such a pleasant surprise.
The old “stinging nettle and naked under the tree “technique , eh? Peter, as always, your sharing is priceless, and generous. Thank you ❤️