Custodian: Taking Care

Disturbing emotions
Came calling,
And I found them involving
Producing much distress and aversion,

But then I recalled
The body,
And redirecting my attention,
Centred it there.

Exploring this experience,
This embodiment,
Noticing what it’s like
From the inside out:

Stability and calm,
Quietly purring along,
The body didn’t mind
But continued on course,

Digesting food,
Breathing and pumping,
Circulating blood,
Performing innumerable functions,

Meanwhile,
Where’d the emotions go?
What happened to the upset?
There was no trace of it!

Twas completely quiescent,
As if the agitated mind
Had been pulled into step
With bodily rhythms;

Just moments before
Where a tempest had roiled,
All turmoil stilled,
No fury, no worry
And no hurry either.

Cushioned: Resilience

After a few
Precious moments of
Serenity sublime,
There ensued a most difficult time:

Intense dread,
As if in reaction to
An approaching threat,
Descended and engulfed like a net;

Seemingly splitting in two,
The mind divided
And with such aversion collided,
Twisting and resisting against what was sighted;

But presently reassurance reached
Across the schism,
Bringing both halves together
And strongly bonding them;

Doubt was breached
And confidence strengthened,
Determination and motivation returned
And the mind felt unburdened.

Thoughts of ‘Where to now?’ disappeared,
Replaced by this new resolve,
This solid state,
Now so easy to appreciate,

Lighting up the dark,
As obviously as the tiny spark
Of a firefly,
On a moonless night;

A remarkable rise back up,
After such a deep slump;
And for the time being,
Stability re-established and tensions easing.

Curved: Around the Circle

Woke up
Got up,
Jumped right into
Activity,

Lots of flow
From one action
To another
With plenty of racket,

Then suddenly
All came to a halt,
Energy flagged
And the mood sagged,

Sadness arose,
Until caught sight of
A leafy tree,
Which cheered me.

Completely miraculous!
How changeable life is,
Is there any greater
Magic than this?

That from energy
Sprang activity,
Which begat flow,
Followed by fatigue,

Then out of this tiredness
Came stillness,
And afterwards there arose
Great sadness;

But looking out from melancholy
Lead to seeing,
Taking in the soft greenness,
Which triggered joy and sereneness,
This too so fleeting and so amazing!