Firstly I would like to thank all of you that send me the most heartfelt and beautiful notes of gratitude and your stories. I wish I could reply to them all, please don’t think it’s personal if I don’t, it’s usually a sheer chance if I am in front of my emails when it comes through! Or I am not…but know I read them all and I love them. They have inspired me to keep writing and contributing in this small way.
Anyhoo, onto this beautiful quote by Dogen Zenji! The ‘Way’ is a Zen term for the path to enlightenment that can be interpreted a million ways. The Tao is also called the Way. Think of alignment with nature, true knowledge of ones nature therefore all of nature and to experience the highest experiences of presence, love, compassion. I could go on but you get the gist.
I think what Dogen Zenji is stating is that we have no idea how much time we have left in these fragile bodies. We let ourselves get caught up in the fray of nonsense where everything that is grabbing our attention we allow to pull at us. And this distracts us from the true path.
So dedicate your time and attention and intention to meditation, to being present to what IS not your ideas about what is, to know yourself, to being kind, to having strength and being gentle. To allowing the seasons to soak into your bones rather than allow them to flit by. To take the time to slowly drink that tea, enjoy that meal, revel in a warm bed. To ponder the meaning of the universe, to use your imagination, to follow creativity where it leads you. This is what it means to tread the true path.
Sent with love,
Jac