a journey through the seasons of life
“Whatever life presents to you, that is the path you take.”
~Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara
“…everyday is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
~Matsuo Bashi
In August, before my diagnosis of cancer, I came upon the most outstanding Zen teacher, Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara. I was doing a Google search for Tricycle magazine and I found one of her podcast videos. Continue reading “The path you take…”
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
~ T. S. Eliot, “East Coker,” Four Quartets
“…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5
As I entered the radiology department, the receptionist directed me to a door decorated with a large pink ribbon. I was the last patient for the day. I opened the door and found a comfortable seat. The facility was very still and quiet. However, my mind was anything but still, or quiet. Rather, it was a knot of information about cancer, treatments, tests, uncertainty, and yes, an overwhelming fear. I tried to calm myself by paying attention to my breath and the surroundings. It was a peaceful room with pastel colored paintings, magazines on the table and a coffeepot in the corner. As I looked around and stilled my mind, I noticed the music quietly filling the room. The words began to fill my soul – “And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.” A song (“I hope you dance” sung by Lee Ann Womack) I used in a graduate social work class years ago. Continue reading “Finding the Courage to Dance”
Help us to be the always hopeful
Gardeners of the spirit
Who know that without darkness
Nothing comes to birth
As without light
Nothing flowers. – May Sarton “The Invocation to Kali”
When I moved into my new apartment the large oak tree which shadows my living room windows was full of green leaves. These leaves shimmered in the light of the moon and the streets at night. They shaded my room from the hot sun of summer days. And made me feel alive. Continue reading “Still waiting…”
Letters 