Yesterday I was reflecting on gloomy weather and gloomy feelings. But early this morning, walking the dog before dawn, I saw lots of stars vivid in the December sky.
Later, in the time I do 'sacred reading' and just as I came across a quote from Thoreau, the sun sprang up over the mountains.
My chair faces north, so the sun rises directly to my right. It was so bright that as it struck my cornea and lit up the right side my nose, I was a little bit blinded.
With wonderful irony, this is the quote I was reading at this precise moment: "Only that day dawns to which we are awake." I had to laugh out loud.
I was reading Jon Kabat-Zinn's, Wherever You Go There You Are. This is what preceeded the quote:
"Taking up a formal meditation practice by making some time for it each day doesn't mean that you won't be able to think any more, or that you can't run around and get things done. It means that you are more likely to know what you are doing because you have stopped for a while and watched, listened, and understood."
This has a lot to do with why I meditate. I really appreciate the encouragement and instruction to stop and watch and listen.
The payoff is to understand, at least to understand a bit better and better over time. And sometimes light dawns in a surprisingly vivid way.
