My resolution this New Year is to stay open to the always new. Each day, each breath, each thought is a new arrival and the art of living is to remain receptive in both heart and mind. Each morning, when I wake up, I sit in silence and ready myself for whatever is to come. Then I tuck a small prayer into my shirt pocket and travel through the day with it close to my heart. It is essential for us all to stay dedicated to our practice in order to become more permeable, sympathetic, positive and spirited. Staying true to yourself is all the more important in times of war, injustice and environmental degradation. These days, too many turn away, fearful and despairing, shut down in the midst of difficulty. But a steady practice reminds us to stay present in the midst of constant change. To stay supple and open whether experiencing gain or loss, birth or death, success or failure.
This week we enter another year! This life moves quickly by…all things are in the process of vanishing. As it is said in the Diamond Sutra, “like bubbles on a fast moving stream, like candles in a strong wind, like dewdrops on a blade of grass”. In the midst of it all, be unwavering and steady. Find the one single thread that weaves through all your experience, stay with the one breath that sustains you through all activity.
It requires fortitude and radical courage to stay open to the always new. This life is kaleidoscopic, with each turn a new gestalt emerges. Every day new situations occur that are fresh, original, never before arisen. The road ahead will be full of debris—stones, fallen limbs and brambles. But the key is to make the entire journey along the Way your practice. As the old Taoist saying goes, “If you fall in love with the road, you will forget the destination”. So your challenge in the year ahead is to travel the road open-hearted, broad-minded and free. Remain open and resilient and trust in the great unfolding.
