Custody: Preserving the Peace

A whirlwind day
Of a whirlwind week,
Trying to keep up
While retaining a sense of peace;

Flowing forward
From one task to another,
But attempting productivity
While minimizing stress;

Aiming for the balance
Between relaxed and alert,
Between activated and steady,
Agitation and calm;

Staying with the body
Whenever I can,
Letting it be my anchor,
Without holding on,

Dwelling in the present moment,
Without anticipation,
But how to do that
And still be prepared?

I still don’t get it,
How to do both of these:
Getting ready for what’s next
And just being here;

Sometimes living is
Such a scramble,
And I can’t seem to figure
How to stay in balance;

What do I do when
Every endeavour splits these two,
When it somehow seems
Equilibrium is always
Eventually fractured by the effort.

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.