i am deeply grateful
for the rare moments
of aloneness
when
even i
get out of my way
winter loneliness
in a mountain hamlet grows
only deeper, when
guests are gone, and leaves and grass
withered are; so runs my thought
italicized words minamoto no muneyuki ason
16 comments:
"When even i get out of my way."
That line reminds me of Alan Watts who wrote an autobiography he titled "In My Own Way." The title was intentionally ambiguous.
We do tend to get in our own way, don't we? It's indeed something to be grateful for when we can get out of our way.
Lovely post, steven.
Such beautiful shots - I can almost hear the silence around them.
Those moments are precious indeed.
dan it's amazing how much noise there is inside a person isn't it!! there are times when i am out for a walk or is top to see something and the words for the blog go flitting through my head and i wish for nothing but the moment itself not a description but there it is!! sometimes i'm very fortunate and the moment enters quietly - with the usual fanfare of course!!! steven
annie the winter can be very quiet at times. the other day i was working on my bicycle and it was so quiet outside i could hear the snow hissing atop the surface of the already fallen snow. like breathing. steven
This is a beautiful piece, which goes great with your wonderful photos.
The pine needles can sit for a long time, quiet in the snow. I'll imitate them now in a small meditation.
Ah yes, getting out of one's own way. Kind of impossible, but absolutely sublime when those moments occur. xx
Today I feel more loneliness, like Minamoto No Muneyuki Ason, than deeply grateful, like you.
The guests from the holiday are gone, everyone is back at work, and even the grandchildren with whom I shared a "snow day" yesterday, are back in school today. It's just me with the two dogs today, and it's an adjustment.
But then, my twin sister (a physician in CA with a large
Asian patient population) says I have "the heart of an Asian mother." I do love to be surrounded by children.
Beautifully sharp photos of things most of us would miss, Steven.
hey spangle thankyou very much! steven
hi ruth - everything sits still. more sits still int he winter. holding still. holding inside itslef. thanks for your thoughtful response. steven
reya - there's a perceptual piece to your self that over rides who you know yourself to be. oh and then there's more, but you know that. so getting out of the way of oneself is as much to do with diving deep past all the outer layers as anything. steven
ahhhhh jo. i also love having my children around me. the ones i teach and the ones i call my children because they are by birth. i miss them when i'm not with them - i really do! i like the hours of alone time when they arrive because they are truly rare. but the time is approaching when they will be commonplace. then you'll hear the wailing! steven
aguja - precious - and in the apparent emptiness is a fullness that i wish i could describe. steven
I read "winter holiness" instead of winter loneliness! Love it, I might need to use that somewhere as I DO find winter holy!
And I am here in solitude, in the midst of a huge snowstorm, remembering that my parents were visiting over Christmas when we had the last big snowfall. Not only did shoveling go a lot faster with my Dad's help, but hanging out watching the birds and reading was a delight. Today I missed them a little....
valerianna - holiness is equally likely in aloneness or in company. but there is something profound and holy about winter aloneness. i know you know that - i've read your writing enough to know you're well inside that piece!!! steven
Post a Comment