. . . first there is a mountain
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an
unexpected visitor.
Welcome and attend them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its
furniture, still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and
invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from
beyond.
Welcome difficulty.
Learn the alchemy True Human Beings know: the moment you accept what
troubles you’ve been given, the door opens.
Welcome difficulty as a familiar comrade.
Joke with torment brought by a Friend.
Sorrows are the rags of old clothes and jackets that serve to cover, and then are
taken off.
That undressing, and the beautiful naked body underneath, is the sweetness that
comes after grief.
– Rumi
. . . then there is no mountain
. . . then there is
In the name of the daybreak
and the eyelids of morning
and the wayfaring moon
and the night when it departs,
I swear I will not dishonour
my soul with hatred,
but offer myself humbly
as a guardian of nature,
as a healer of misery,
as a messenger of wonder,
as an architect of peace.
In the name of the sun and its mirrors
and the day that embraces it
and the cloud veils drawn over it
and the uttermost night
and the male and the female
and the plants bursting with seed
and the crowning seasons
of the firefly and the apple,
I will honor all life
–wherever and in whatever form
it may dwell — on Earth my home,
and in the mansions of the stars.
– Diane Ackerman
. . . caterpillar sheds his skin
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/alexross/2009/10/messiaen-video.html
Be sure to look at both Parts 1 and 2
As you can see, we don’t have much to say after three months of silent retreat,
and others can say not much so easily! We’ve journeyed inward and outward
together, Matthew, Bonni and Sara, through the sun-drenched richness of
voluptuous August, September’s hints of change and October insisting that all life
concentrate itself deep in the ground.
. . . to find the butterfly within
Transformations will slowly unfold themselves, as we explore the changes that
have emerged as imperatives. We are going to create a living space for Sara, so
that she can continue to assist Bonni and the Retreat House. Matthew will ease
out of his business in Vancouver (and the health-destroying commuting hours that
go with it) in order to have a life and be focussed on Dharma. As for Bonni . . .
she is always full of surprises, so this should be no different.
. . . deep bows
To everyone who has stepped up to ensure that this experiment continue for a
while, and to Cat Stevens (for the section headings.)
the world is my cloister!