Acknowledging

 "No matter how we get trapped, our usual reaction is not to become curious about what’s happening. We do not naturally investigate the strategies of ego. Most of us just blindly reach for something familiar that we associate with relief and then wonder why we stay dissatisfied. The radical approach of ... practice is to pay attention to what we do. Without judging it we train in kindly acknowledging whatever is going on. Eventually we might decide to stop hurting ourselves in the same old ways."

Pema Chodron,The Places That Scare You

I love the phrase, "kindly acknowledging". It has stayed with me for close to a week. I recently viewed a newsclip where people were doing everything but kindly acknowledging one another. It saddened me that in that time when the community was called together, there was no real meeting. People were too entrenched and barricaded in their own ideas, beliefs, and fears to even begin listening to one another.

The Places That Scare You was first published in 2001, and she has published several books since then. I find I am drawing strength from her presence in this world. She is in her late 80s and she is still teaching and writing. As I continue to sort and clear out some of my books, I think I need to make some room for Pema Chodron.

As I sort, I have been reunited with some beautiful books. One of them is Gratitude by the neurologist and author Oliver Sacks, published two weeks before his death in 2015. As he wrote his last book, he knew he was dying. The final chapter of the book is entitled "Sabbath". He was raised in a Jewish family, but he was not a practicing Jew. This chapter is a touching memoir of being reunited with his extended family, and learning to understand the deep meaning of Sabbath. In the last paragraph of the book which he wrote when he was very ill, he concluded "I find my thoughts drifting to the Sabbath, the day of rest, the seventh day of the week, and perhaps the seventh day of one's life as well, when one can feel that one's work is done, and one may, in good conscience, rest."

Today, I find myself living somewhere between these two thoughtful authors. I do not sense my work is complete, and therefore the time of experiencing life, its challenges and its encouragement, continues. I shall keep this lovely book. I have learned that at any stage of life, gratitude is a trustworthy guide. Yet, sometimes I do need to be reminded. I am grateful for that kind attention.

image: When the storms subsided this week, I checked on a neighborhood peony. It weathered the wild wind and rain quite well!