Occluded
Clouded
My mind a storm of thoughts
Breathe
Stillness
Empty myself
Of past, present and future
Of fear, desire, need
In the quiet
A softening
Becomes a glimmer
Becomes the light itself
Flooding the plain
Of my existence
Which at first
Seems wasteland
Breathe again
And the waste becomes barrenness
Breathe again
And the barrenness becomes emptiness
Detached
From time and material things
I learn the beauty of emptiness
Which I fill
With this moment
The master told her students
This is the path to enlightenment
“But it is so straight”, one replied
True, said the master
“I expected the path to be difficult!”
The straight path is difficult
“How can it be?
There are no mountain passes to find!
No intersections or forks to choose from!
No sharp curves to negotiate!”
Many students nodded their agreement
The master shook her head
The straight path is difficult because
You want to climb mountains
You expect there to be many paths to choose from
You believe there should be sharp changes in direction
One student had sat quietly through all this
Listening while looking straight down the long path
As far as she could see
Finally, she spoke
“Walking the straight path is impossible
For one who seeks insight
From every roadside attraction”
The master smiled
I am your student!
In a moment between breaths
Clear my lungs
Clear my mind
Clear my heart
In this realm
Of sunset otherness
The heavy sigh of engines
In smooth air
As a world of cares and worries
Slides by far below
Soon enough to be rejoined
I take another breath
Feel the gentle decline
Back to Earth
Take another breath
Close my eyes
Imagine myself
In flight forever
Concerns and attachments
All suffering
Spread across the surface
Of a small globe
Above which I can choose to float
So when I choose again
To walk the Earth
I may appreciate both
Its suffering and joy
Its love and discontent
Its beauty and ugliness
Its hardship and kindness
With another breath
Empty my lungs
Empty my heart
Empty my mind
Of attachment
To one state or another
For it is the attachment
To a state of being
Which creates the suffering
Not the state of being
“Cabin attendants prepare for arrival”
I recall the sun
Hard
And hot
Burning through
The cold air coursing
I recall the sea
Singing
Its white noise crescendo
The roar
Of a planet alive
I recall this moment
Blissfully
Unattached
Firmly rooted to ground
In the grip of experience
Connection
Transition
Evil subdued
Peaceful detachment
Let diligence
And patience
Bring on
The insightful
Flood
Let my spirit
Rise
From the flat
Featureless plain
That was me
Burdens weigh me down
Attachments distract me
Encumbrances hold me back
Pix to Words 