“Our lives depend on our sensitivity to the particulars…The call is to pay attention, to wake up to where we are, to what is before and all around us, here, now.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn
Lets take the opportunity of the fall season, and get to know who we are, paying attention to the particulars of our nature.
I feel fall approaching, bringing darker days, but also bringing the chance for us to go to the core of ourselves. Let’s use this season to grow inward, so when spring comes we will have a clear picture of our disposition, and a clear direction to grow outward and upward, to the sun, to the world.
Dante allegorically told us that in order to know where we are, we have to descend, go underground, into darkness and depth of our “hell”. Only then we can ascend to “heaven”. Many people perceive they live in hell, when they feel lost. The interesting fact is that the moment you realize you are lost, it means you are no longer lost. We are somewhere and from there you can start a journey. As long as we take the time to investigate our landscape and the direction we want to go, we will find our way, and only then we can move forward and upward.
From the well-tended seed come the strength, beauty and generosity to the world. In order to be generous with the gift of our lives, we need to get to know who we are and where we stand. So, lets take this time to go to our own depth, without being fearful. From darkness comes light.
Poem: “Lost,” by David Wagoner from Collected Poems 1956-1976 © Indiana University Press.
Lost
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.