Good morning …. seems that the morning time works best for writing. This my second blog post, wrote the first one about a week ago. That can be viewed here, please click on this link.
I am in southern Tasmania in a coastal village, can often hear the sounds of the ocean from my house though this morning it is calm and quiet. It is cool and grey today, with the promise of rain. The rain is much-needed here, it has been so dry for a long time, the earth and plants want to soak it up, have a good long drink …
This morning I awoke with the vision in my mind of the way time passes, day after day after day, night after night, life moving through us until one day we will each come to our final day on this planet.
I had a phase some years ago of resisting the end of each day, not wanting to go to sleep, not admitting that the day had ended. These days I love my sleep time, that altered consciousness that happens in sleep, a chance to exist in dreams or simply be in deep darkness.
Meditation is very much like that too.
For myself (and all of us), state of mind defines whether I am happy or not. It is an internal event which can be influenced by external factors of course but essentially it is up to us, up to me, to manage what I am experiencing. How amazing and how free-ing is that!
This state of mind also has impact on physiology, the nervous system, heart, digestion, energy levels.
Very often I become down-hearted due to my lack of family connection, feel pretty alone; sometimes become anxious at the thought of the years to come…. the prospect of being old and alone is frightening, saddening. But I know at the same time that this is a thought, not a reality. The thoughts bring feelings of anxiety and sadness, but is not actually real in the present moment. I am not so old yet, and I can love my family even though we do not spend time together, have only minimal contact.
I can hold that feeling of love within myself and bathe in the nourishment of that for myself …. while understanding that this energetic event will transfer across the distances and will also influence the state of mind of my loved-ones.
The best thing I can do for myself and for others is to cultivate that love within. Day by day, this can be a practice, and then watch and experience the response that comes, the connection that happens, the love that is returned.
Makes me feel very good to simply write these words this morning.
Wild nature is a great resource for positive state of mind; in my last (first) post I wrote about the deep connection I formed with a river during the Covid lockdown… here in Tasmania we have extraordinary areas of wilderness though the government here continues to approve native forest logging and various developments in wilderness areas.
While I am alive I intend to maintain capacity to spend time in wilderness. This usually means being able to walk into remote places carrying a backpack, or to paddle my sea-kayak packed with gear and food…. the need to maintain strength and health, and also to allow time to have this freedom.
Time, a mysterious concept …
Dear readers, I invite you to close your eyes and remember yourself as a child, your inner experience of yourself. Then switch to a very recent memory of your inner connection with yourself. What do you discover?
outer connections are a reflection of inner connections … fascinating metaphysics. I will dwell in this state of mind today and watch what happens.