49 Tuesday
“...the books and all the words are only maps, they’re not the territory itself, and you all know that the map is not good enough – if it was you could have bought a map of Sri Lanka at the newsagents and took it home with you and studied it, and then you could say what a good holiday you had in Sri Lanka. But you know that isn’t right, can any map show you the rolling hills, the valley below, or the sunset we saw tonight? Of course not, and that’s why you saved your money, took a flight, and came over here, you wanted to actually experience the country. But for some reason when it comes to the spiritual life people are satisfied with the words – so we read the Gospel, but we don’t know God as Father for ourselves; or we read about someone who woke up and put an end to his suffering, but in our own lives the sorrow continues. So to me meditation is about doing the practice, regaining some bodily awareness, finding out how our minds work, understanding our relationships with the world and with each other, and no map can tell you any of that, because it’s your own personal reality you have to uncover. The books have a certain value, but it’s very limited I feel, what you have to do is learn to read the book of life, make your own discoveries, find out your own story, and so on, and that I think will have some meaning...”
from the moment we are born we are breathing
the power of God as it rises and falls
we ride this wave throughout all time
bringing life with each moment it passes
all things are made for giving and taking
and for sharing in this gift of life
breathing in we learn to take what we need
breathing out we give it back once more
all creatures are joined with each other
this grace is meant for us all
so why not come to know it
this breathing in this breathing out