Full Moon Morning
Scattered thoughts like a herd stampeding go nowhere, fast.
This is going to be my peaceful day.
The two collide as I wake feeling confused, a touch annoyed, attempting to grasp the details of a dream. Monkey mind jumps in quickly this morning – things that need attention: a bill that needs to be paid, research re a potential dental issue, checking maintenance records on the car.
Pause. Breathe. Stretch under the covers. Another breath. This is going to be my peaceful day. Ahh … it’s Wednesday. Blog day. I set the agitation aside … at least for a moment. Then as I rise, it wants to follow.
I do my best to decline because deep in my being I know that our world cannot be a peaceful one unless we are individually at peace. While I’m not likely in this life to reach the heights of inner peace that the Venerable Monks of the Walk for Peace are demonstrating to us each and every day, that deep peaceful place in me is not unfamiliar territory. I have visited the territory; or, perhaps, that place of full, peaceful presence has visited me.
And, as the Monks have reminded me, I know its requirement. Practice. Practice. Persistent, consistent practice.
Consistent practice is not my strong suit, yet practicing peaceful presence is a challenge worthy of taking on. We see its effects in the thousands demonstrating peacefully in Minneapolis just as we see its absence in the angry reactions of ICE. We experience its effect when we face a conflict in clear response, not angry reaction and when we walk through the day with clarity and purpose.
Scattered thoughts do not, have not, and will not manifest peace – individually or collectively. They manifest confusion, anxiety, annoyance, reaction. That’s what serves those who are intent on maintaining hierarchical, power over structures and their positions in them. This offers yet another reason to practice.
This truth about scattered thoughts I know in my being, and yet I hold a story that my scattered thoughts serve me in some way (After all I have almost 76 years of experience!). As if while I’m doing ‘this’ I think about what’s next or something I need to attend to later is efficient planning. It is not! It’s mind destroying, and it is absent of peace in me and as a positive, peaceful contribution to the greater whole. To Life.
And so, I aim to shift my story. To be more consistent in practicing mindfulness, peaceful presence and turn the tide to clearer, more peaceful presence. To full attention to this moment, this gift, this NOW. I’ll be calling upon the Grandmother Tree and other Beings in The Woods Out Back to support me. Their steady presence is a consistent reminder to just Be Here Now!
Grandmother Tree in the Woods Out Back