Yesterday Jeff arrived from LA, and we had a Group Meditation Meeting and spoke of how nature is at all times trying to give us the fullness of life. And how often are we there to fully enjoy it? Jeff said we all say ‘I want so much happiness’ yet how much do we take for ourselves? Because it’s all available, yet we are frequently just not present to it. It’s all there for the taking, but can we let go of our thinking about our wants, and be present to what actually is. Which is, let’s face it, rather spectacular. When we let go of our neediness, our demands, and become open to the little delights of life, everything can become wonderful.
This morning we woke and walked to the beach before sunrise. Jeff had his film camera, and pottered taking photos. We admired the way the offshore wind was blowing a mist off the back of the waves caught by the sunlight. We drank coffee, and ate breakfast, and drank more coffee. I scratched the cutest little Jack Russell who wriggled and squirmed with the delight of being scratched. And we spoke of how these little moments in our days take on more joy the more we are open to them. We chewed on stories with intricate detail. And it was the detail that delighted. The little moments in life.
Then we came home, my head starting to fill with all my responsibilities and tasks of the day, and then I saw the light playing on this little table in our lounge room. And I paused to watch it. I had a small voice in my head of course saying ‘for real, you’re going to watch the play of light on a twig when you have 647 emails to answer???’ But more and more for me the emails aren’t going to be answered well if I’m not taking pause to relish the day. When I smash through tasks as tasks, and not activity to be enjoyed, I feel utterly unfulfilled. And I don’t want to live like that anymore, as lord knows I have had enough experience of it.
So I share this seemingly mundane letter to you (Jacqui watches dead twigs in light for daily fulfillment hehe) to get you to ask yourself; where am I present to the delights of life and where am I shutting down? Where am I apparently too busy to absorb and be present and where am I burying myself in a story of doing-ness and needs? And how, today, can I appreciate it all…
“When you stop trying to grasp, own, and control the world around you, you give it the freedom to fulfill you without the power to destroy you. That’s why letting go is so important: letting go is letting happiness in” Leo Babuta
Let me know how you go,
Jac x