Zen Master Dogen reminds us time and again, in a variety of ways, that life is precious. It is rare to be born a human being, rare to find Buddhism/a spiritual path, so do not leave ones life exposed to changeableness. In other words take care, take great care. Do not waste time.

The following message, left in the comments section by Dave, struck a cord with me to-day: Life is precious. That which helps you see that life is precious is precious too. So please take good care of yourself. Yes indeed.

Struggling through my day; not feeling 100% up for whacking at thistles on a windswept hillside, not managing to get my brain to function well until late in the afternoon. I’m feeling sorry for myself. Then answering emails; to a chap in serious trouble with an immune system gone wrong, oh and a phone call with somebody facing surgery and then prolonged immobility. Stressed people and stressed for very good reason. How can I feel sorry for myself? Hardly! Hardly at all.

In Britain we are familiar with John Simpson reporting from war torn somewhere. But not near here. However quite often there are people living in a ‘war zone’ right next door. Maybe not with bullets coming in the window or the door being battered down. But internally, spiritually, the level of pressure is notched up to what I call ‘war zone training’. The thing is people often don’t realize. Perhaps they are not able to take in the the multiple factors that add up. Perhaps that’s just as well…

Then, on the cloister, a chap tells me about something that had happened: …and then I knew for sure that everything in the world is fine. That there is not a (fundamental) problem. Is this OK? Yes, this is normal, I reply. Oh, OK! I didn’t even remind him not to hang on to this insight. He knew that too.

At last a sunset! We come out of meditation at around 9.00 pm and the sun is getting ready to go behind the hill about then. These pictures were taken a few days ago. One from behind the buildings where I live and the other of the inside of our first floor library.

Observing the setting sun through the library windows I could not help but notice they needed cleaning. And as it happens we have some of those amazing micro fibre cleaning cloths, which do a great job on windows, as well as:

…..mirror cleaning, glass cleaning, dishes, cleaning glasses, cooking pots, kitchen stove, hot plate, microwave, oven, grill oven, kitchen sink, bathtub, shower, washbasin, kitchen cabinets, furniture, computer screens, tv’s, stereos, bikes, musical instruments, marble slabs, floor coverings, tiles, cleaning chrome and high gloss surfaces, cleaning lenses, jewellery, paintings, picture frames, and much more.

New heels for old shoes.

Treasured hankies made white again.

Years ago at a spiritual direction ceremony (Shozan) one of the monks asked about compassion. How may I find compassion for myself? The Master answered something to the effect that she started by taking care of her boots! It is not such a stretch when you think about it. Being mindful of ones shoes and getting them heeled, bleaching handkerchiefs when they have become sad and grey is to treat them with respect and gratitude. If one treats things with that attitude surely it’s possible to treat oneself that way too. To have compassion for oneself, and all things.

Too often people regard themselves as having little worth and so gratitude fades to a flicker. Sometimes that flicker dissolves into dark despair and where there is no light there seems to be no hope either. A woman asked me after the recent funeral how she could convey a sense of gratitude to the deceased. I said I thought all she could do was simply offer her open heart and in that there is conveyed gratitude. Which is a beacon of hope.

So I guess we make offerings of tender care to the stuff around us including ourselves. Life is precious.

I’ve had cause to look into services which help bereaved children and their families. Winstons’s Wish based in the UK looks like a good one.

Fiona husband died by suicide in February 1996, leaving her to raise their unborn child alone. Fiona, from Halesowen, spent years investigating bereavement services and finally found Winston’s Wish, an organisation that could help Fiona and her child David, live with their loss. From a case study.

RD4U (road for you) is another service for bereaved youngsters.

RD4U is a website developed by Cruse Bereavement Care’s Youth Involvement Project which aims to support young people, after the death of someone close to them. We believe that the best way of doing this is to involve young people in planning, developing and delivering services.

Chanel4 made a series of documentaries titled A Child’s Life. One of them, Why did dad choose to die?, deals with the issues around child bereavement due to a parent committing suicide.

Many thanks to those who helped me to find this information this evening.