The Feel Of Mindfulness: Poems From The Present Moment
- A chapter from the book Mindfulness, A Guidebook to the Present Moment -
This book began with an introduction to the practice and principles of mindfulness broadly, providing you with an opportunity to start meditating immediately. Then it branched out and drilled down on different areas, clarifying, explaining, and expanding your knowledge. If you have worked through all the Meditations and Glimpses, you now have a strong set of tools in your mindfulness toolbox and will be able to integrate the practice into your daily life.
However, you may feel that something is still missing; a feeling, an energy, something that is not quite so easily pinned down. Something that must be felt. It is one thing for me to tell you about the insights and impact of mindfulness, and another thing for you to feel them and know them yourself. But if you keep meditating, these feelings will manifest on their own.
I am a poet, and often words come to me during or after a meditation session. Sometimes they relate to my inner world, and other times they are an expression of the practice. I want to share with you below some of those poems. My hope is that they will evoke a connection in you and help you to feel what I feel.
There Is No Rush
There is no rush,
You are already there.It is all around you.
It is in the moment,
And it is the moment.There is nothing to be done,
And no one to do it.No words spoken.
No rituals performed.
No sins cleansed.Just an opening,
Just a realisation,
Just an acceptance.Of silence,
Of the present,
Of reality.As it is,
For what it is.Two Leaves
Two leaves float down a river,
Pulled by the current of life.
Sometimes they take the same path,
Sometimes the river splits them up.Yet even when apart,
They travel together.
Because all paths lead to the source,
Still, each journey may vary.Where one leaf faces rocks and rapids,
The other leaf faces calm tranquillity.
Where one leaf feels the warmth of the sun,
The other leaf is beaten by rain.At times, all leaves get stuck,
Blocked by debris or caught on a bank.
Or pulled under the surface and trapped.
At these times the leaves must wait.Wait for another to knock it free.
Or for the flow to clear the way.
Or for the slow push of time itself,
To gently alter the river’s shape.Then the leaves will float once more,
This interruption quickly forgotten,
Because the destination is the same,
No matter which path it took.Play
Watching him play
I disappeared.
And in that space,
The world opened up.Birdsong
Waking up to bitter coffee
and a birdsong.Breath visible
in the crisp morning air.Attention turns inward
finding nothing.When You Look Inside
When you look inside,
Where does your attention go?
An internal energy,
A power
A flow.When you observe the breath,
What do you now see?
A play of consciousness,
A freedom,
Serenity.When you move the body,
What do you feel?
A sense of freedom,
A space,
An ideal.
This chapter is from the book Mindfulness, A Guidebook to the Present Moment
