A Walk

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



An announcement:



There will be no Zazen at Clear Mind Zen Temple this evening as I will be in El Paso with Both Sides/No Sides Sangha.



This morning very early, Soku Shin and I took a walk through the Desert Trails park. The stars were wonderful. A flashlight helped keep us on the trail and Suki helps as well by making sure we were mindful. Walking in starlight is very humbling. The sky is so deep and expansive, the air so cool, and the earth so seemingly supportive that it feels as though we are truly on a voyage on a spaceship though the universe. Indeed we are.



Where are we going? Where have we been? It really doesn’t matter. Just as on a walk, it is the walk that matters. The voyage is never about getting there.



I am playing multiple games of chess just now. I am not doing well, by some standard, such as winning or losing. I am playing chess with very interesting people from around the world. In their play their temperaments are revealed. Small things count: misplacing a piece, moving without seeing, staying calm, but most of all not worrying about winning or losing.



My rating has taken a serious hit lately as I have been playing these games on my phone’s small screen and often in the midst of some other activity. We learn or we don’t. Multitasking in chess (as in most things) is like oil and water.



I am learning to let go of lost games and simply resign a lost position: more psychological energy for the next game.



It might be time for another walk. So it goes.