40 Days of Inspiration
The Borderland - 9
by Rabindranath Tagore translated by William Radice I saw, in the twilight of flagging consciousness, My body floating down an ink-black stream With its mass of feelings, with its varied emotion, With its many-coloured life-long store of memories, With its flutesong. And as it drifted on and on Its outlines dimmed; and among familiar tree-shaded Villages on the banks, the sounds of evening Worship grew faint, doors were closed, lamps Were covered, boats were moored to the ghats. Crossings From either side of the stream stopped; night thickened; From the forest-branches fading birdsong offered Self-sacrifice to a huge silence. Dark formlessness settled over all diversity Of land and water. As shadow, as particles, my body Fused with endless night. I came to rest At the altar of the stars. Alone, amazed, I stared Upwards with hands clasped and said: ‘Sun, you have removed Your rays: show now your loveliest, kindliest form That I may see the Person who dwells in me as in you.’ DAY 17: See the Light.
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40 Days of Inspiration 
Happy Guru Purnima. Today we honor those who honor the place in us that always Is. May the graces of today be shared with all sentient Beings.
Day 16: Thank your teachers, whoever they are. 40 Days of Inspiration
If You Knew
by Ellen Bass What if you knew you’d be the last to touch someone? If you were taking tickets, for example, at the theater, tearing them, giving back the ragged stubs, you might take care to touch that palm, brush your fingertips along the life line’s crease. When a man pulls his wheeled suitcase too slowly through the airport, when the car in front of me doesn’t signal, when the clerk at the pharmacy won’t say Thank you, I don’t remember they’re going to die. A friend told me she’d been with her aunt. They’d just had lunch and the waiter, a young gay man with plum black eyes, joked as he served the coffee, kissed her aunt’s powdered cheek when they left. Then they walked half a block and her aunt dropped dead on the sidewalk. How close does the dragon’s spume have to come? How wide does the crack in heaven have to split? What would people look like if we could see them as they are, soaked in honey, stung and swollen, reckless, pinned against time? Day 15: Let yourself be loved. 40 Days of Inspiration 
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche: “Ask yourself how many of the billions of the inhabitants of the planet have any idea of how rare it is to have been born as a human being. How many of those who understand the rarity of human birth ever think of even using that chance to practice the Dharma? How many of those who think of practice actually do practice? How many of those who start really continue? How many of those who practice continue and attain ultimate realization? Indeed those who attain ultimate realization compared to those who do not are as few as the stars you can see at daybreak. As long as you fail to recognize the true value of human existence, you will just fritter your life away in futile activity and distraction. When life comes all too soon to its inevitable end, you will not have achieved anything worthwhile at all. But once you really see the unique opportunity that human life can bring, you will definitely direct all your energy into reaping its true worth.” Day 14: See your preciousness
40 Days of Inspiration
40 Days of Observation I thought it was cute to include the missing power cord: oh, that's why things have slowed down. Then there was the power outage. Then the Internet continued to be out. And then, and then, and then all the things that can pop up to give you a reason to stop happen, and you keep going anyway. You keep writing your novel, whittling away your gluten, listening intently to loved ones, creating a meditation practice, a soccer practice, a walk the dog practice, whatever it is, you do it, anyway. Day 11: Keep going
Mahalo to The Yoga House for photo inspiration
40 Days of Inspiration What you resist persists. And it can look like this: 
I had a great time at Kriaplu. I took some time to sit and intend the next horizon. It was so nice being in Nature, being cooked for, inspired by, and stretched out. I kissed the trees goodbye and hopped in my car confident of the time spent.
I got home: blew a tire, crossed some wires, and left my power cord in the mountains. Okay, the power cord is actually lost somewhere between my bunk bed and Kripalu's housekeeping crew, but the metaphor is not lost. Expansion breeds contraction and our ability to staying connected through the ride. Lesson duly noted. Even though Dan, the Apple Genius, sympathized with me that I had to buy a new cord, I conceded that it was a "small price to pay," he shrugged; I walked out glad to donate to a more power-full connection. DAY 10: Get connected. What can you do today to foster your true connection? 40 Days of Inspiration 
"'Meow' means "woof" in cat." - George Carlin
DAY 9: Show some love to the four leggeds today. Dharma by Billy Collins The way the dog trots out the front door every morning without a hat or an umbrella, without any money or the keys to her dog house never fails to fill the saucer of my heart with milky admiration. Who provides a finer example of a life without encumbrance-- Thoreau in his curtainless hut with a single plate, a single spoon? Ghandi with his staff and his holy diapers? Off she goes into the material world with nothing but her brown coat and her modest blue collar, following only her wet nose, the twin portals of her steady breathing, followed only by the plume of her tail. If only she did not shove the cat aside every morning and eat all his food what a model of self-containment she would be, what a paragon of earthly detachment. If only she were not so eager for a rub behind the ears, so acrobatic in her welcomes, if only I were not her god. "Dharma" by Billy Collins, from Sailing Alone Around the Room. © Random House, 2002. Reprinted with permission. |
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