I Am a Rock

It's become interesting to reflect on my youth. So perhaps I am old. I was definitely young when in college, in response to a lover's attraction to another, I remained silent and simply played Paul Simon's I Am a Rock to her. "I am a rock, I am an island ... and a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries."

Oh, the self-defenses we put up, as if we were a fortress under siege. And how ridiculous that all seems now. To take open space and turn it into a portrait of pain.

I keep a quote from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche above my mantle. It reads, in part, "The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions. And to all people - experiencing everything totally without reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes onto oneself."

What seems to be a jungle is really a clearing. That is why meditators sit. Like a rock! 😄

27 April 2023
Texas Jim
Saul's Island, Nova Scotia
www.granitecoast.ca