Morning Zen

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,

Zazen at 9:30 AM does not begin my day…dog walking, coffee drinking, conversations with Kathryn, washing, pill taking, writing, all of these come first.  Going to the Temple to sit still is frequently a welcome relief from the day to day practice of being alive. 

She asks me, “What are your thoughts?”  I scramble, my brain floats, it doesn’t think.  I see I need to organize what is floating around in there, but just now?  At this very moment?  

She says, “No lovies on your back unless you talk.”  Oh my. I tell her my day’s schedule hoping that will suffice.  It doesn’t.  I scrabble some more.  Thoughts about the refuge surface.  I say, “We need to get to the mountain house to pack up my remaining things there.” 

The lovies begin.  I am relieved as I feel her fingers on my back.  My whole body sinks into the bottom of the bed. But then,  “Say more,” she says.  I scramble again.  “We should go on another camping trip.” I say, thinking of Oliver Lee State Park.  But in the back of my mind, I know I need to abandon this exchange of thoughts for lovies as the dogs need walking and a Zen student will be calling and we will need to be at the Zendo by 9:00…it is already 6:30.  Good grief. It’s one breath and one step, one breath and one step: life in the Zen lane.

And now with coffee sipped, and writing to you done, it is 7:15. Gotta go walk the dogs…be well.