I often quote William Stafford’s poem, “The Way It Is.” If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you may have seen it two or three times. Does
that make you want to skip it?
Familiarity can feel boring. Sometimes our desire for knowledge
makes us prefer novelty much more than familiarity. Yet Awareness Practice is
grounded in familiarity.
The word ‘grounded’ points to rootedness, staying put, incremental
growth. One of the graces of meditation is ‘growing’ an ability to experience
familiarity as ‘interesting’ rather than ‘boring.’ When our ‘familiar’ is
interesting, when it draws us in, we see everything in and around us in so much
more detail. We even 'care' about it more. We see our habits, our likes and dislikes, our ‘ways’ more and
more clearly--and it matters. We notice that our habits, likes and dislikes, our ‘ways’ are
what constitute our ‘Way.’
AND (this is a big AND) for all of us who’ve been
somehow opened up to a WAY that is bigger (in so many ways) than our own
personal ways, mindfulness and contemplative practices allow us to notice more
regularly when we've Lost our Way.
William Stafford calls this Way a thread--and creatively, powerfully describes the grace and discipline, the gift and participation of intentional (for many of us, spiritual) journey.
The Way It Is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn't change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
