Anna's hummingbird on a nest the size of a ping-pong ball
Photo by Elaine Miller Bond
The self has a tendency to shrink our world down to the size of a hummingbird nest. It insists that things be pleasant and go our way; whatever is contrary is seen as unfair and intolerable. Yet even when we are in pain, this slogan reminds us we can find joy by opening fully to our experience. We aren't required to accept our suffering with a forced grin and a stiff upper lip. Instead, meditation can assist us in discovering our innate joy. We learn to focus the attention on what is happening without narrating a mental story around it. As Zen teacher Darlene Cohen explained, "it is only in the present that you can cultivate the mental stability that is required to practice non-preference for the conditions of your life." She describes the process of "widening our weave," meaning we acknowledge and feel our pain rather than run from it. As an alternative to closing down, we make more space - space that allows our suffering to move through us. Training our attention also helps us be aware of the more subtle sensations that are also going on at the same time. Though we may feel intense discomfort in our body, we may also notice a cool breeze that blows across our face and hear the sound of it in the tree tops. Rather than narrowing our perception down to what is happening that we don't like, we can expand it to include what is joyful there too.
You need to cultivate skills that enable you to be present for all of your life, not just the moments you prefer. ~ Darlene Cohen
For more information on the twenty-first slogan, go here.
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