Tug-o-War

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Morning came early today thanks to warring between pups. Tripper and Suki were playing tug-o-war with a rope toy when it turned ugly. Nobody was bloodied, but the growls were serious. “OUTSIDE!” I said in my most stern voice. That was 3:15. Since then the poor rope toy has been shredded. I am sipping coffee, having just enjoyed two pieces of toasted whole wheat bread with honey.



This morning at 9:00 AM, we will invite the bell to ring and we will sit with our own wrestling dogs. Zazen is sometimes like that, thoughts and feelings playing out a tug-o-war in the theater of our mind. Some of these conflicts are very difficult to “let go of” as they have a tendency to play out over and over. The trick is to get ahead of the wave. Practice teaches us to pay attention to nuance, from there, to the gentle rising of a ripple heading to full-blown wave.



Pay attention: Notice, let go; notice, let go. If the wave becomes overwhelming, surrender. Paradoxically, the wave resolves. In other words, give permission for something arguing to be, and it will lose its power. We are on the cushion to bear witness, not to change. Yet, in the act of bearing witness, everything changes.



Be well.