"the thought must have its own centre of gravity; it cannot just be either here or there.
we must find this centre of gravity. it is the same for the body; if it is not centered, no movement will be possible. it is the same for the feeling." jeanne de salzmann
locating and maintaining the centre of attention is its own challenge. without it, all else becomes superficial. experienced and known in the most limited of ways.
there are spaces . . .
massive,
majestic,
almost improbable,
and yet,
there they are . . .
pass your hand through those clouds and you get . . .
closer to earth,
the sun dips low enough to catch a colius plant in stained glass leafiness .
a tiny space
and so intimate as to be almost improbable
and yet there it is,
pass your hand through it and you get . . .
a caressing of leaves,
a gracing of air,
a blessing of light.
intimations.
"you do not realize enough that your attention is your only chance. without it you can do nothing.”
14 comments:
Good morning Steven,and it is a noon actualy,I have a case of bad day today,feels like influenca or very nusty bug,cant open my eyes proper,all sounds i try to make trough my mouth is coming trough my nose( :<) )
You are so very right I should be more careful what I watch before bedtime,I had crazy dreams,apsurd!
Still,i must go to fisyo,need to find my center again,to be able to feel,to move and live again.Beautiful way to wake up,I put my hand trough the cloud.....
Have a great day, :O) San!
Hi Steven
I was prompted to think about this notion of being centred a while back and wrote about it then filed it away as a draft for a rainy day but I was thinking more in terms of emotional centering whereas it seems as if you are thinking of focus and attention...
these tiny spaces of attention can reveal the world in all its glory...
Happy days
hi leks, thanks for dropping by. it's all the rain. you've probably got a cold or something. the good thing is there are lots of clouds to put your hand through. have a peacefu day. i hope physio works everything out for you. steven
hi delwyn, i'm thinking of being centred as in being fully present. emotionally, senses wide awake, wide open and wholly present.
body, mind, and soul. integrated all at once.
seeing the whole glorious thing in one tiny part - on all levels.
this posting really belonged over on my other blog but i'm gradually melding the two blogs i think, so i thought i'd slap this one here and see what i see.
Yes, attention - be aware, then attend. But what you say is key - can we be aware and attend if we are not centered? How useful the cleansing breath to centre oneself.
The coleus photograph is exquisite - stained glass, as you say. Sometimes it takes but a tiny part to awaken us to the whole. But first we must attend.
hi bonnie - thanks for adding your words about attention. there's a degre of attunement, of sensitivity that is necessary to be aware. in the course of a day, it's difficult to catch what's passing with the quality of attention you might like to have. better to be open to what you can than not at all!!!
have a lovely day! steven
Why does it sometimes take us so long to find our center? Maybe we are older and wiser now? Seize the day!!
hi willow, i wish i knew the answer to your question because it plagues me as well!! in my own mind, things make more sense to me the older i get. but i'm confused as to why i believe that!!!! this day will be seized and it will be enjoyed to the fullest! it's sunny out . . . hurray! steven
Love this (of course).
I think we all have a center. The trick is in remembering that truth, and being able to place attention in the geography of that truth.
Lovely images!
hi reya, thanks for the clarity - i reread what i had written and made an adjustment! have a lovely day. steven
Our "center," paradoxically, arrives in its centeredness when we lose our self-centered awareness and become instead precisely aware of our non-selfness that is, everything that appears in that only moment now.
Somehow this paradox manages to eludes being captured in words, but as de salzmann said, attention is our only chance.
hi dan, your insight is precisely why i wish my dad were still here. he was a buddhist and knew something of what i was wrestling with when it came to understanding in the clearest sense about what i call "getting out of the way". your words provide a really clear insight for me that will allow me to "move on". i'm very grateful. have a peaceful evening. steven
Your dad. When did he die?
hi dan, my dad flew away december 6 of 2008. i wrote about him on this blog from december 6 - 13 and on my other blog "flow" after fourty nine days had passed. http://flowinwordsandpictures.blogspot.com/2009/01/fourty-nine-days.html
in the last year of my life, all my father's retreats and meditations and studies were to prepare himself for flying away. he and i talked about thos e preparations - even though he was in reasonably good health - because he knew he needed to leave. thanks for visiting dan!! steven
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