dmdubay

The equinox is approaching. We are all equal on that day…equal sunlight, equal night. So is equality only for that day? Are not all created equal? I know I am mixing metaphors, but sometimes one idea prompts another in my mind and I love making connections between disparate ideas and facts.

Sometimes I wonder about how things go so well for most of us, most of the time. Sure, sometimes everything falls apart and things and hearts get broken. But if I count the minutes of my life, I realize that in the vast majority of them, things have gone very well. Calamities, disasters, disappointments, failures, injuries or any number of negative things are notable because of the rarity of their occurrence. Maybe they are just signs to shout out to me that life is really humming along marvelously—most of the time.

Putting a positive spin on it, today was a very full and rich day. However, there was little time to write. In other words, my agenda was sidetracked. Can I find ten positive things about not having enough time to do what I’ve planned? Let me try.

1. I encountered some people with stories that needed to be shared. 2. I had time to encourage someone who needed it. 3. I had conversations that provided me with material for future writing projects. 4. I listened to Spanish instructions as I drove to and fro. 5. With fragmented time, I was able to accomplish small tasks needing to be done. 6. In other words I utilized my time wisely. 7. I’m stretching here, but at least I wasn’t bored. 8. I realized I am needed. 9. There was at least a moment or two to smell the roses. 10. I usually work best under pressure. So you see every type of day has positives.

Sunday. It is good to have a day of rest and revel in the accomplishments of a busy week, a day to reflect on what has had meaning in the preceding days. Yet I want to live in the present moment and appreciate all it has to offer. I want to take pleasure in what is now, because—really—now is all we have. Life is in the little things that fill every moment. A few minutes ago, I was preparing a chef’s salad for our light supper and boiled a few eggs to add to the top. I had gathered veggies from our garden, everything fresh and crisp. I got the egg slicer out of the cupboard, peeled the eggs and sliced them. I feel a little silly describing the pleasure I got from seeing those perfect little slices, but it almost brought tears to my eyes. I feel the same when I gaze on flowers and wonder at their beauty. It’s good to be simple and have unassuming things of life bring me satisfaction and fulfillment.

What a day! We took time off from our work around the property and drove up to Artist’s Point overlooking Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. WOW! I wish there were a better word to use for such splendor, but in the presence of such magnificent scenery, that’s all I could say. The air was so clear; it made the colors on the mountains look as though they had been enhanced…like when a plain picture is photo-shopped so it looks kind of fakey.

The magnitude of the mountains is impossible to grasp. I felt like the tiniest speck in their presence. Pure white glaciers hanging on the granite peaks almost hurt my eyes with their intensity. Ravens soaring on the updrafts floated right by us as we walked along the trail. The crowds of people appeared to be awestruck and looked around with shining eyes and smiles. A quiet, respectful reverence filled the entire experience. What a world we live in! And how blessed we are to have eyes to see it.

An unbearable sadness almost stops me in my tracks when I think of the extreme hatred that gave rise to the horrible events of nine-eleven. It will take tremendous love to overcome such tremendous hatred. But it is there for the asking. I do want to be a channel for that love, but sometimes it’s even difficult to ask. On this beautiful September day with the crops ripening in the fields and the abundant harvest of the earth coming to fruition, let’s all ask for more love to fill our hearts and minds. It is the only way to truly forgive and to love your enemies. It is the only way to bring forth the fruit of peace in the world.

“Hatred will never cease by hatred. By love alone will it end.” Buddha

The moon was so bright when I stepped out to look at it last night; it illuminated the trees surrounding our yard. A huge shape in one of the trees leapt off a branch and flew towards the house—a magnificent owl. I could almost hear the swoosh of wings as it went by, but it was silent. Wouldn’t it be great to see in the dark like an owl: to know that I could fly through the deep woods without hitting a branch; to trust those instincts leading me to life sustaining food?

The instincts leading me to become my true self are buried deep within. They are in my very DNA. I need to silence the clamor trying to pull me away and listen with attentiveness. And then I need to leap off that branch trusting in the wind holding me aloft.

Sometimes I justify grumbling and complaining by disguising them as righteousness: “How awful! What is this world coming to?” It seems there should be a line somewhere and justice and fairness should rule. People should pay for their crimes—an eye for an eye mentality. But does my desire for revenge help? What is just in a world that has been inured to violence, murder and greed?

Just by asking these questions, I notice in myself a very unsettling commotion. My stomach churns, my shoulders tense and my head hurts. How does love grow in such an astringent atmosphere? Is the hatred engendered in me going to fix things?

Never having been the target of focused hatred, it’s easy for me to sit back and say that I would be forgiving, I would turn the other cheek. Would I? Do I, even in small matters?

All I can do now is send positive energy and love to whoever needs it the most. I can “be the change I want to see in the world,” as Gandhi said.

There is darkness and there is light. It is hard to believe at this time of year when the days are getting shorter, but the light will shine in the darkness.