If we add together all of the times when we do not experience life fully because desire and attachment keep us from being present.  And all the times that we try to separate from what is, out of anger or fear.  And all the times that we are spaced out, we end up with a pretty big pile of moments.  What is left over is a tiny parcel of mindful moments when we are fully alive, not lost in clinging, resisting or disconnecting.  This is a shockingly limited way to live.

I forgot to write down who said this.  And that’s okay.  Someone did.

The writer challenges me.  Right now I’m sitting in Lloyd Coffee Eatery, tapping my words to you.  I am awake in my message.  However I’m surrounded by other human beings enjoying their beverages and friends.  I need to cast my gaze on them as well, and send them blessings.  And so I put down my phone for awhile …

***

That was good.  So many folks enjoying Christmas Day together.

Being awake doesn’t just mean sitting in meditation, open in silence to the vastness of life.  It also includes many other moments, ones that can also be bathed in light, if we have the eyes to see.

For too much of my day, I’m walking around with those eyes closed, doing this or that by rote, not seeing.

I ask myself if there’s one thing I can contemplate to remind myself of the grand, to bring more hours of aliveness to my day.  What comes is this:

In the times when I’m with people, look softly into their eyes, even though mostly they won’t be taking in mine

And balance those times with being alone, creating moments that raise me up

***

May I choose a shockingly lovely way to live