It's Days Like This

PHOTO: Close-up inside one of the tulips we bought for the altar.

The inner sanctum of this gorgeous flower reminds me of a natural, stained glass window.

It's days like this when one's practice really comes into focus. It's for days like this why I meditate on days when I feel like I'd rather be doing any number of other things. Daily practice is encouraged so that when we have days of despair (liked I've been having the last few days) we have something we can rely on to helps us out.

Every day that we meditate we water the seeds of strength in our store consciousness and keep open the avenues to balance and peace so that when we really need understanding of a difficult moment the pathway to reach that realization is already there. It is like having the training and the experience to know where the steam release valves are located to re-stablize the system.

And part of it (for me at least) is sitting through those difficult moments and accepting them and holding them in my attention. This is what I have been doing in my meditations for the last few days. Today, as I was breathing in I imagined my depression being a stressed, crying baby and I held it with compassion and let it cry out the heavy energy. With each breath in I supported the depression and cared for it. I held myself in the pure light of Avalokiteshvara's compassion that is always present for us to access and benefit from. After awhile doing this guided meditation my body began to relax and my mind lighten and open up to the reality of interconnectivity.

I remembered that I was connected to all things that are loving, caring and happy in that very moment. I heard the uplifting chirping of the birds outside at the feeder and I let that part of me sing with them. I heard the laughter of pure being from the children outside playing on the giant snow banks and laughed with them. I saw the smiles of compassion that my dear mother and wife have for me and all beings and I smiled with them. This inevitably lead me to the refuge of the Buddha and reminded me of my own Buddhanature. It is hard to be depressed when the Buddha is sitting on one side of you and Avalokiteshvara on the other.

It is days like this when the growth occurs.

Other pictures of the fresh tulips :




~Peace to all beings~