Hello my dearest Reader,
The last month had been hectic. My house was full, so was my heart. As if that is not enough my work front kept my plate overflowing too.
My boys and I spent quiet time together as family. Weekend trips, breakfast dates, coffee with Mithai (our four legged grandson) it was as if we were weaving something special out of moments which seemed quite ordinary. The Saturday night ordering in, the family recipes repeated during Sunday cookout and new ones that we tried kept our bellies happy and our souls satisfied. We enjoyed the rains, the swims, the walks and the doing nothings on the weekends. The free flowing hugs and bubbling laughter echoed through my house. The ritual fire and the prayers enhanced the energy of space around us.
Weekdays was an exact turncoat of how our weekends were. The early morning started with regimented routine of meditation, breathing exercises, visualisation, work outs, journaling and reading. This was followed by clearing of emails before actual work day kicked in. The only saving grace was an hour of bonding and conversation with my 19 year old before I headed for work. The minute I stepped into my work place, I was swept by the flow. The day just flew by. Minutes rolled into hours without any cognition.
I had read somewhere that zen is when you are naturally and effortlessly without fixation. When you go with the flow, without trying to change anything. I’d not go so far as to say that the last month I attained the calm of the perched master on top of the tree (see pic) but I could catch the flow of life - effortless and without fixation. It was not peaceful all through , but the anxiety, the frustration or anger did flow through like a river, unhindered and without any clinging. I’m not particularly partial to the heavier emotions, I experienced the same with joy, love and warmth. They seeped through me and emptied into nothingness.
In a very lay man’s term, when you start living your hundred percent without the burden of performance pressure, or expectations of the desired outcomes, you probably touch the hem of that state. The last month was zen like. The furious pace juxtaposed with the islands of peace and strangely both were tied to the same fluidity. In that lucidity , dreams took shape, roots anchored deep, compassion blossomed and nonchalance winked back. I could literally take a cat nap amidst a storm.
I realised when you embody peace and detachment, you see vividly the insecurities, the ignorance and the ego grasping that surrounds you and surfaces in you. The only thing that you feel at that point is compassion for yourself and for all those who walk your world. We like everyone else often have our views muddied. We cling to success and disappointments equally tight. Unfortunately neither stays. And that is the fact of life.
I learnt in the last few days, to love because I want to, to work because I love it, to stretch because I care and to let go when it’s meant to be.The world gives you masters in all shapes and forms. The little master who brazenly decided to let the world flow by as he perched on the top of a tree trunk meditating and watching the meaningless pursuits of human kind, taught me zen in it’s simplest form. Be the flow.
My dearest reader, I hope you find your own flow. And someday your life will touch banks of those beautiful but ordinary moments which are waiting to unfold. Till we connect again, leaving you all with zen like Purr!
Always yours,
Pocket full of life
