Gathered in groups the Deer remain. They stay and get on with their lives, then for no apparent reason, flick their tails and move off. Still, then away. As I have been, with the spare spaces tending to be filled up with one thing and another.
This post is for a couple of people I know, one in Canada and the other in the Netherlands, who are nearing the end of their lives and are in extremity. Do ‘move off’ when the moment comes, knowing that you are never alone in the deepest sense.
Green is bursting out all over the place. This lane is in the Black Forest Germany where I’ve been spending some time.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Lake District, there has been a whole lot of ‘greening’ going on too. Lakeland Fells are on the horizon.
From my vantage point a small gathering of young deer lurk behind me. The sheep persistent in her presence.
Then there is nature up close. This dandelion caught my eye, extending one of it’s fluffy seed heads into a notch at the end of a rural bench.
As you will observe from these photographs the sun has been shining, the weather has been great. So much so one wonders if is will stay this way for ever. Well, nothing lasts for ever and rain today is in the forecast. There is the weather outside and there is the ‘weather’ inside.
This post is for those whose internal weather is testing them mentally/physically and in all ways. We call that having health ‘challenges’. Challenge covers a whole spectrum of pain, discomfort and worry. The question is, how does one meet the challenge. Practically speaking, how does one tread the middle path? That’s between: having ‘further tests’, ‘living with’ what one has, escaping. From my own experience the middle path includes all three: tests, living with (acceptance) and finding ways to escape if for a brief time. Oh yes, and medication.
In particular this is for three people I know who have had, or about to have, further tests or in one case a medical procedure.
Yesterday, Wesak Day. We celebrate the Buddhas Birth and Enlightenment sometime during May, the event marks the Buddhist New Year. Traditionally Wesak is on the Sunday that is closest to May’s full moon. In Malaysia this year that’s the 29th May. As a point of interest Rev. Master Jiyu’s Ordination Master, the Venerable Seck Kim Seng, was instrumental in getting Wesak Day made into a public holiday in Malaysia.
As you can see we get out the Buddhist, home-made, bunting and generally decorate brightly around the monastery. I was fortunate to be at Throssel on Sunday to join in the celebrations.
Today, a public holiday. Moments of repose beside a river: here Wild Garlic in profusion, a Blue Heron statue like, birds calling. A lone duck floats by on the current. Ah! the sunshine, the warmth. The profusion of greenery. It’s been a record-breaking day in terms of temperatures. A good day all around. Even the trash looks good today!
Sitting beside the river this afternoon my mind wandered to those less fortunate all around the wide world. This post is for them.
Mourning is
the noise of
memory
that follows the
quiet liberation
of death.
How removed we are from death now, how sterile and unseen it has become. My entire fear of death was built on a foundation of having experienced it too little. I feared that the burst of noise that is our lives, once silenced by death, would have no echo. But having experienced her death, having stood at the side of her bed in the middle of the night as she gave one last breath for each of us present, I can tell you that this is what death is like: motionless, hushed, the sound of a candle being extinguished. And then: the cacophony of memories that follows, a cacophony that is both torture and ecstasy. The noise of these memories is what makes you wail and shake and hold your head in your hands. Mourning is the noise of memory that follows the quiet liberation of death.
From Memento Mori
I’ve read through this article, Memento Mori several times and still I come back again. Why? The clue is in the title, Memento Mori – Remember you must die. I’ll say no more. This takes one deeply.
….as lace tracing intricate patterns across the sky. Trees rooted and flying, simultaneously. As are we.
….relational. Generational. Alive and decaying, simultaneously. As are we.
Ah the wonders to behold, our friends yet to sprout into greens and fruits. Holding Great Potential in their tracery. As do we.
Dear Readers,
Yes, it has been a long age since I sat before my laptop and so easily uploaded photographs, formatted them and now about to publish. I’ve been using a phone and tablet these past…could it be true? Nine months! The call has been getting louder to return to posting on Jade so here I am, answering. I have been active as Hounmugo on Facebook since May. Not at all sure how long that will last though.
Bows, Mugo