So, what’s new and exciting, huh? Not much unless we count (which we do) the transfer of the Zen Monastery Peace Center’s 320 acres to the Miwok Tribe!
In fact, it’s exciting and thrilling and invigorating and massive-amounts-to-attend-to producing and no-reason-to-be-bored reminding and huge gratitude expanding.
We think two 24 foot U-haul trucks, one towing MoJo, the pickup. A two-day drive up. Unload. Rent a car for the trip back to the airport. Fly home. Not us! All this will be done by our dear friend and neighbor Jose. He has been a godsend to us during all our years in Murphys and now he’ll see us safe and sound to our new location. Years ago one of our neighbors began calling him “Angel,” which pretty much captures who and how he is.
I have the easy job here, making sure we have everything arranged to accommodate all our earthly possessions and rounding up the burly fellows who will do the unpacking when our tuckered truckers arrive.
We have that expression in practice, “these are the times we practice for”. Usually we’re talking about a devastating loss or terrible news, that sort of thing. This is all good news and still feels like very intense practice. So many moving pieces. So much to track. Keeping attention on awareness moment-by-moment is clearly a requirement, and then there’s the “faith” part of the equation. Much of the time there’s at least the illusion that we have some idea how things are going to go. Then there are the times, like these, that prove that illusion really is an illusion. Looking ahead is just distressing! It doesn’t seem possible for things to come together in time. Yet they keep doing just that. The sale of the property is all the proof we need that life happens in Life’s time, on Life’s terms.
It will happen. Something will happen. One way or another. It always does. It may not be what we want, what we would wish, what we think best, but happen it will. Which brings us to the truly remarkable thing awareness practice teaches us: What is is always the best. Always. We may not be able to see it immediately, but that doesn’t change the fact. It’s the Zen chap who awakened upon hearing the butcher reply to a question as to which cut of meat was the best. “They’re each the best.” Every thing is the best. Every one is the best.
Now let’s remember that’s true for each of us as well.
In gasshō,
ch