Dazzling: A Worthwhile Effort

Weather warm-up coming soon
Triggered pre-migraine munchies,
But meditation on track,
Following the breathing
And letting go,

Seeing clearly
What is not mine,
And marveling at everything,
All patterns inside and out;

Sense of freedom grew
And equanimity bloomed,
But not for long
As fatigue set in,

Nevertheless, remembered that
All effort brings benefit,
And this motivated further exertion
Which generated more mindfulness,

Just as yesterday’s actions
Brought today’s observations,
So today’s positive actions
Pave the way for better results,

It’s vital therefore
To continue building on the practice,
Breath by breath the attention expands,
Opening possibilities and generating confidence,

Even weariness presents an opportunity
To examine this feeling,
And the sensations that
Go with it,

Directing the attention
To the resting
And noticing what that’s like,
On this autumn night.

Dawning: The Sky Lightens

Another dismal forecast,
With the rain teeming,
And the streets streaming
But in keeping with the arising mood;

All set to spend an evening
Grumbling, moping and steaming,
When received a phone call invitation
To attend a group meditation,

And with little hesitation,
Accepted the offer of a drive
To the location,
And readied to leave for the destination;

Prepared and ate a quick snack
Gathered up the cushion stack,
And bagged it,
Shouldered the backpack and departed,

Leaving behind the darkness
For the light of dharma fellowship,
The downpour de-centered,
The gloominess tempered;

Then shortly after arrival
The sitting commenced,
Upright stillness
Silent mindfulness,

And afterwards,
Sharing and reflecting
Upon practice notes
And experiences;

All left little doubt
Of the value of
The practice,
And the decision
To participate.

Darkening: Going Sideways

Energy stoked up after
Application of my meditation strategy,
And carried it on
Into daily life,

But later in the day
Worn out and sleepy,
From the effort?
Or something else?

Never know what
To expect,
Every day’s different,
Every meditation too;

Always travelling,
So much to see,
Never stopping,
Only resting in movement,

Up the mountain
And over the peak,
Down into the valley,
Immersed in green,

Traversing the wilderness,
Getting entangled in thickets,
Sky barely visible
Through the branches and vines,

Know the next mountain’s
Out there,
But struggling to
Keep up the pace,

Darkness sets in
And set camp for the night,
Pitching the tent
In the shadows cast by the firelight.