Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way. (Yasunari Kawabata )
My husband sits in a beach chair and chats with his step-sister. One side of the deep end of the pool is set aside for adults only. In this roped-off area I am the only person treading water. An ideal meditative moment.
June has almost disappeared. And sure, I can retrieve parts of it in memory. But, I almost missed two meetings because they seemed to be in the plenty-of-time-yet future. And then, suddenly, the dates arrived. And I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been.
Now I travel the pool invisible-labyrinth style. I watch the people in the distance, the sky, the trees. Take notice of color. Celebrate the moment. Watch for the metaphors that inevitably appear without forcing them.
Two small children wrapped in colorful life jackets cheer divers; perhaps the children are their friends or siblings. Then again, little people know only this moment. They could be applauding style, or a step into the unknown. Toddlers recognize no more than the current blue or gray. The baby pool behind them is not a place of confinement. It is a place of safety. Adults stand next to the little ones. They clap as well.
Earlier I’d been focusing on the dead trees behind the pool area, the ash that have suffered and been lost. Now I recognize green. Trees that have survived. Hope exists.
Not all reality is embraced inside the evening news. Even if certain political names and issues promise more destruction than dead trees, and appear like incurable viruses.
I recall an Ann Frank quote my granddaughter Katie repeats, “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.”
The water that had seemed so cold when I first let my shoulders drop below the surface, has suddenly warmed. I am moving. The temperature has not changed; I have adjusted. If I could soften the world I would. In the meantime, I simply touch one heart at a time, and pray the trend continues.
Pass it on.
Rumi: The Garden of the World
terrypetersen 