Hallway to Nowhere

Tag: practice

  • Precarious Ground (Poem)

    Right now I walk so uncertainly

    With little knowledge of what will cause me to fall.

    I can talk to a stranger with ease

    But then a smile makes me flee to cry in shadows.

    How to navigate this mercurial terrain baffles me.

    The world shifts without warning,

    While so also does my ability to adapt.

    I had the illusory notion I could cope well.

    This has fled, as I struggle once more.

    How do I give thanks for this reminder of impermanence,

    When I feel thrown back into depression’s embrace?

    Surely some of my study and practice will stay

    To provide a steadying influence while I falter through my day.

  • Reflections On Illness (Poem)

    Practice can be difficult.

    Often my body is filled with pain

    Or clouded by fever.

    I realize again

    That compassion and patience

    Must be extended to myself.

    I consider impermanence and the connection of all,

    Grateful for the many kindnesses of others.

    These current conditions will change.

    One breath at a time.

  • Weight Of Samsara (Poem)

    How to develop a lighter mind,

    Able to easily drift on the winds of change?

    All my attitudes hinder this,

    Causing me to adhere to every sticking point.

    Rather than a clear openness,

    I find the constant film of selfishness.

    Sometimes this momentarily fades,

    Through diligent application of appropriate means.

    My attention waxes and wanes,

    With the result that the tarnish returns.

    Once again I sink under the grimy wash.

    If I could but realize that this be illusion,

    I could float freely as the leaf and cloud.

  • Spacious Mind (Poem)

    What is the beginning of wisdom?

    Simply this. To say

    I do not know.

    Nothing more. This hard thing.

    A sentence to utter often.

    Practice articulating these words.

    In solitude at first if need be, for familiarization.

    One brief declaration, then stop.

    Listen to what follows.

    Open mind. Open heart.

  • Where I Live (Poem)

    Where do I take refuge?

    If I build my happiness on external factors,

    I will lose this. Always.

    A futile task, as this brings short-term satisfaction

    Which leaves me wondering where to go next.

    My home will present problems

    So that I move to find a better place. Again and again and again.

    I think surely this time I will be content.

    But there I am, and I remain the same.

    I cannot leave myself behind

    Yet I cast my unease as resulting from the wrong circumstances.

    I want to stay in the place where I dwell

    Without adding to my own suffering.

    Just being alive can bring pain enough.

    Let me learn wisdom, practice kindness,

    Thereby to find peace.

  • Preparation (Poem)

    Interaction does not come easily.

    Every conversation takes place in a foreign language.

    I make notes beforehand,

    To remind me what to ask and how to do so.

    I practice and rehearse

    And remember past exchanges.

    This is not because I do not care.

    I make this effort precisely

    Because I care indeed.

    But I remain a foreigner in this human terrain

    And find the ground often shifts in unpredictable perplexing ways.