Let the Dead Leaves Drop

AA said: Like like like💚
BB said: Tack för denna lilla betraktelse – det är en som tilltalar mig – den är lätt att förstå ;-)

Let the Dead Leaves Drop

Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.

                                             Rumi

After the intensely active summer months, autumn calls for calm and introspection. Looking out of my window I see the birch leaves fall. A certain melancholy touches me, but then I remember Rumi’s words: be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop. It is good to be reminded of how important it is to let go of what is dead in our lives.

Nature is a mirror of human existence (or the other way round) and now is the time to let go of what we do not need anymore. Everything from clothes we have stopped wearing and books we will not re-read to habits that no longer serve us, or values that no longer reflect our true selves - we need to let it all go.

If you look at the tree that is your life, what dead leaves should you let go of in order to make space for fresh ones?

Do Not Let Sorrow Forget its Errand

AA wrote: Tellement vrai Sabina, merci de nous le rappeler !

Do Not Let Sorrow Forget its Errand

Every deep sorrow is the result of a lost joy. Do not let sorrow forget its errand. Sorrow is the greatest glory that joy can get.*

                                                                 Harry Martinsson

When we feel sad because of a lost love or cry because we miss somebody who has passed away, we should keep Martinsson’s words in mind. Aren’t we sad now, because we once were happy? Most often we are, in fact, crying over a lost happiness.

We know that nothing lasts forever, that every living thing must die. Instead of crying because we lost somebody, we should thank life that we once had the immense chance to share wonderful moments with him or her.  We should celebrate the wonders of love, friendship and care that we have been lucky enough to experience, knowing that we are sad now because we once were very happy.

 *Varje djup sort har förlorad glädje till föremål. Låt inte sorgen glömma sitt ärende. Sorgen är den djupaste ära som glädjen kan få.

Stable, Limitless, and Open

AA wrote: Beautiful! Thank you, Sabina. 😄

Stable, Limitless, and Open

Body, like the mountain.

Heart, like the ocean. 

Mind, like the sky.

                      Dogen

In times of uneasiness or doubt I sometimes feel as if my place in the world is not obvious, as if I were a cloud, slowly dissolving into thin air. Then I need to ground myself. Dogen’s idea of “body like a mountain” often comes to my mind, and meditating on the poem above is a good help to become grounded again.

I sit down cross-legged, close my eyes, follow my breath for a couple of moments, and visualize Dogen’s words:

·            Body, like the mountain - I see and feel my body, steady on the floor, stable like a mountain. With every breath earth energy fills it from below, it calms down, and becomes one with all living things.

·            Heart, like the ocean - I see and feel my heart opening up to become as vast as an ocean to take in and care for all that it encounters.

·            Mind, like the sky - I see and feel my mind, vast and empty like the sky. Thoughts and emotions come, pass through it, and leave again. I let them all go, out into the wide open space

When I re-enter my day, I am back HERE again, grounded and happy.

Produce Joy

AA wrote: Love it! Thank you my dear sis!

Produce Joy

Do anything, but let it produce joy.

Walt Whitman: Leaves of Grass

 Doing something with all our heart and energy will most surely be a joyful experience. Provided that what we do is not harmful to your surrounding or any other living being it does not really matter what we do – as long as it produces joy!

Feeling joy nourishes your whole being; it is like a bright flame that makes you fully alive. When you feel joy, you will inevitably spread it around and nourish those who surround you. Our world so badly needs more joy to lessen anguish and sadness. 

Do something today that produces joy! Add some happiness to life in your own way. Even if your contribution may seem small and insignificant it will spread like ripples on water and make this world a better and more joyful place to live in.