Buildup: Ouchie!

Cause and effect
When will you end?
I slipped on an icy spot
On the pavement
And fell flat on my face.
Then I was into a race
To clean up the mess
From the sidewalk
And the juice and
The yogurt in my pocket.
Wouldn’t you know it,
The only time my pockets
Were full it had to happen
That way.

Woe, woe, that I should drop
On the street
Falling right off my feet
With my pockets overflowing
With some treats
I had obtained to eat
As a snack for my tummy.
They would have been yummy,
But instead I had to fall on
My front and receive the brunt
All over my clothes.

Then home I had to go
For a shower and a change,
Then rush around deranged
To get to work on time.
I was hoping for a break
But not this one!

I sure hope nothing important broke,
But I fear my back will
Make big complaints,
Later on tonight or when I awake. Ouch!

Oh, blast this cause and effect!

Building: Foundation

The bitterness of my cup this day
Was all about what happened yesterday.
I could not stop thinking about
How bad that was.
Worrying about my back pain
(Albeit still present To some degree),
I fussed and stewed
About the unfairness
And dismay;
What a waste
But how human of me.

Besides this unwise behaviour
The simplicity of the solution,
The change that cheered me
Was simply:
Tea bag in hot water
With milk.

This tiny act
And the savouring
Of the result of
This small flavouring
Of my unskillful clinging
Produced great relief
And relaxation.

I smiled with happiness
At this miniscule delight,
This tiny dot on reality’s stage,
This little pixel of respite,
This bitter taste that displaced
The bitter tang of defeat.

How easily pleased is the mind,
How readily fooled,
How subject to disturbances to the flow.
Why I bother to go below
At all, perhaps I shall never know,
But only stop minding it.

Build: Metta Results

Pain! Pain!
My back went out again.
I struggled all day
With the discomfort and rage.

But then I noticed a change:
For in between angry outbursts
And misery,
There were metta thoughts
Arising unbidden to my rescue.

So I see, even when circumstances
Are at their worst,
If we practice regularly
With these simple phrases:
May I be well,
May I be peaceful,
May I be happy (and so on),
The benefits are many.

I had little peace,
But every now and then,
Because of the metta
The anguish would decrease,
And I felt some relief
From my extreme discomfort
And agony.

And so,
Every thought counts
It seems.
Every kindly repetition
Gets us a bit closer to
Reducing suffering to zero.

Loving-kindness potential increases
With every phrase we repeat;
We need not be defeated
By difficulty or distress,
As regular metta recitation brings rest.