THIS IS HOW IT IS

THIS IS HOW IT IS
Another 50 -Word Story

There is a time in autumn when the leaves on the sycamores
start to dry, the wind blows. Listen to the rustle sweep
over you. Soon, your body sings, you rustle. You blow
through the trees across the meadow. You hear. If,
perchance, the flicker calls now, you will disappear.

What grabs you and pulls you deep into the present?

What bird song or bird call does it for you?

What animal always makes you pause and draw a quick breath when it crosses your path?

When were you so moved? How long has it been?

Go outside. Today. Get some Sacred connections.

Blessings,

William

P.S. SIMPLY SERENE - Four Amazingly Powerful Ways to Be Instantly Alert and at Peace -- will serve you well if you want some guaranteed ways to become present. I talk about the famous Owl Eyes in depth in this one.

Go for it = > http://tinyurl.com/mbd4x


P.P.S. You have my permission to share this story with no more than three people.

Love of the Ordinary

Remember the child who receives a fancy toy for Christmas by his doting parents. Watch as the child opens the present, see the looks of adoration on the faces of the parents, then note the surprise that moves across their faces that changes in the next moment to disappointment, finally, as the light dawns, to delight.

What are they seeing? They’re watching their first born open the present, look at it briefly, discard it, and, then happily play with the box and wrappings for hours.

As I write this, I’m in Kona, on the Big Island, Hawaii. This is everybody’s paradise. I have thrown out the present and am endlessly enjoying the wrapper.

What draws me? I pass on the fancy catamaran trip to the best snorkel sit on the island. I pass on the night dive with the manta rays. This dive was life changing for some in my family. I pass on the parasail lifting high over Kailua Bay, which Kevin thought was the best event of the trip.

I pass because the ordinary steals my heart. Instead of stopping and smelling the roses, I stop and smell the plumaria.

The unfamiliar and ubiquitous bird songs of the mynas and the zebra doves enchant me.

The Saffron Finch that joins my dawn Taiji becomes a loved companion.

I listen to the ever-changing sounds of the surf 30 feet (10 m) outside my window. I “fly” over coral reefs, listening to the sound of my breathing as I snorkel in a rocky cove, 100m south of here.

My Zen teacher, Genjo, might say, “Zen is the celebration of the ordinary.” At any rate, I say so.

Now, what ordinary miracles do I see at home? Home too is paradise if I would but look. This trip I was bowled over by how beautiful Seattle is. Everywhere I look, I see the Divine.

What is sacred and magic about the ordinary in your life? Find it. I promise you its there.

Exercise: Go outside for 10 minutes, look with your artist’s eye, and find three things that knock your socks off. That make you say, “Oh, wow!”

Example: As I was driving home, I saw a photographer surrounded by trees with the astonishing fall colors, the beauty of the lake behind him, as he took a photo from one foot away (15cm) of a pay telephone. I almost pulled over to so I could see what he was seeing. Get it?


If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, the best of us walk about well wadded with stupidity. – George Eliot

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. – Our old friend, Henry David Thoreau

Blessings,

William

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Prosper & enjoy these wonderful insights.

Paradigms Explored

· Upgrade Your Right Brain
· Simple Is Sophisticated