Pleasures of Presence

 “And I wonder, without needing our vision, what the heart might be reaching towards in that direction? Perhaps it’s something very close to us; perhaps the heart is reaching across the continent or across the oceans, towards something very far away? I wonder what your heart will beat for?”

These phrases in the meditation known as Pleasures of Presence struck deep today, rekindling the embers of grief. That grief over so many losses - the deaths of my father, the death of  the mother who gave birth to me and the mother who raised me after her death, death of family, friends and colleagues - asks the question “What will your heart beat for?” 

What is the point when so much that was loved is absent and deep holes are cut out of my heart? And the forest answers, and the trees say “This. THIS! Be here, now. Be HERE, now. Be here, NOW. BE here, now.”

There is no other answer.

Five senses reaching out.

My eyes see the colors of the leaves. The green, the orange, the red. Blue sky above, brown earth below.

My ears hear the sound of the bird, and the chipmunk scurrying past.

My nose smells the aroma of the pines and the deep earthy smell of humus.

My tongue tastes the dirt, rich and organic.

My hands touch each other, my feet touch the ground. A connection, as roots reach deep into the earth.

I am here. Now.



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