Heartsease
Here’s to family gatherings,
And all that it implies,
The laughs, the embraces, and
The muffled, unheard cries.
What better time for karma
To show it’s dynamic hand,
Than when we gather ’round the fire
With our tiny human clan.
So, here’s to watching silently
Amidst the jubilee,
As we allow ourselves (and others)
Just to simply be.
This poem was sent by Jim, a regular reader of this blog, who was inspired to write following a phone conversation we had about families and family reunions. Many thanks Jim, much appreciated.
As with this family of tiny wild pansies so with human gatherings-one or a few in any gathering will feel at odds with the rest, from time to time. Perhaps somebody will turn aside for awhile, or flag a bit, or get distracted with other things, or… Even so it is a time just to simply be with what ever is happening.
We are preparing for a week long monastic gathering starting September 3rd. Postings from now on are likely to be less regular because my energies and focus need to be directed closer to home.
The Heartsease were photographed on a walk near Alston. Apparently an infusion of the plant was said to help mend a broken heart, hence its common name Heartsease.
A very timely post for me, after a gathering of family in the last week, and more to come i suspect.
All good stuff, but very interesting for me how the same old difficult feelings can surface at the slightest intonation or word from ones family, and then disappear again once they are gone, and to be left missing them. How strange!
Just shaddows from the past Miles. The fact that they disappear so quickly shows that this is so. Nothing substantial and yet you miss them when they go. Families are held together with a certain kind of glue. The flow of cause and effect mixed in with something deep and unchanging I’d say. Thanks for leaving your thoughts.
BTW I edited the original posting considerably as I’d posted in haste because I needed to get to a community event on time.