Truly Alive

The fact that we are alive is truly a miracle. 

We could say there is nothing special about it,

but when we are deeply aware of being alive

in this moment, we see how wonderful it is. 

                                                    Thich Nhat Hahn, Buddhist Monk

The writings of Thich Nhat Hahn move people deeply. For some, he reaches inside and plays grace-filled tunes of the heart.  For others, the platitudes of words are heard in the head alone.  How do you take something like the fact of being “truly alive” and know it yourself?  How does it go from mere description “about something,” a good thought, to true reality experienced first hand? 

 

July’s Jubilation

July 24, 2009

The butterfly spread its body,

over the beauty of the flowers,

And with each wave of the wings,

Lifted it to higher light and wonder,

For words spoken and accepted,

On bended knee to open hearts,

Far away at Jockeys Ridge Park,

Where two lives took flight for life.

How do we take something from the head to the heart? 

Let me offer this direction. We all have those moments when we do find ourselves strangely intensely aware that we are alive.  One of those moments for me was my son’s proposal a few years ago.  Of course, my wife and I were at home knowing all of this was about to happen.  I took a picture of a tiger swallow tail butterfly which came together in a poem I wrote for the couple. Why stop there?  You don’t have to duplicate that experience to live in the fullness of the moment.  The one experience can open the door to a world in which creation is present to us every moment.  The proposal is not the exception.  It is the invitation for union with the world in which you are truly alive.  

Or….

Get a chair.

Sit outside.

Find something.  Anything.

Really see it!  

Be with it.

Feel your heartbeat.

Listen to your breath.

You’ll never have that moment again.

Give thanks always.  

Accept the proposal to accept the invitation again.