Bliss

In the still, sacred space,

I feel the tread of angels,

the whisper of their wings,

their love, all-embracing.

My senses dim and fade,

my heart blooms in joy.

I lose myself in silence,

And wrap myself in bliss.

The light is all-dissolving,

love holds me in its thrall,

my soul lost in ecstasy,

Only bliss remains.

Wheel-watch

I am on a flight from Keri Keri to Auckland in a smallish aircraft and for the first time on any flight I'm sitting next to the wheel. It is one of those aircrafts where the wings run across the body on the top and so the body sits rather low and close to the wheels. As the plane taxies, I watch fascinated as the wheel rotates balanced on what seems to be a flimsy leg, and I feel like I'm in a giant mosquito, big body and paltry legs. The wheel however, does not think like this and therefore takes us up the runway, ever accelerating, and very soon it gets lifted off the ground and almost immediately a hatch opens up underneath the wing and the wheel still spinning gets folded up and neatly slips into it. Wow! The plane is now wheelless and airborne.

The scenery that unfolds under me is stunning. A veritable feast of green - fields pockmarked with sheep and cattle, neatly hedged, undulating hills shaded with hues only nature can paint. Dark splotches where the clouds cast shadows below. Rooftops among the fields, in red, brown or grey slate. Forests of dark pine which look so mysterious on the ground, look surprising demystified from the air. All this punctuated with blue, gleaming strips of tiny lakes, streams, rivers. After a while I can see the sea glimmering in the distance, the deep aquamarine shrouded in mist like a blue, shy secret. We then climb over the clouds and we are flying over these cushiony billowing masses of confectionary perfection.

As we near Auckland, we descend below the clouds again and the sea is directly below us now, or at least the bay is, gleaming blue-green and sparkling naughtily, almost beckoning me to join in and sink into the waters. In the distance a small strip of land shimmers hazily and all of a sudden the wheel hatch opens and the wheel descends. I look ahead into the distance and see no land. I wonder if the pilot is planning a sea-landing. But we don't need wheels for that, do we? I then can't help thinking how our lives are like that too. We fly over nothingness sometimes lost at sea and we look into the distance to get a grip of our bearings, to see if there is any land where we can park for a while, and panic sets in when we see none, entirely forgetting that our Pilot can see ahead and is steering our lovingly into dry and safe land. And then of course, the landing strip appears below us right out of the sea and the wheel fulfils its raison d'etre and makes contact with the hard land and wheels us safely to the airport.

A solitary, winter walk

It's interesting how walks pan out on cold, winter evenings. The temperature is 10C and a cold wind is blowing and within minutes of walking my body is as cold and stiff as a piece of frozen chicken. The wind wraps itself around my body and the cold seeps in through the four layers of clothing that I have on. But as I walk briskly, my circulation gets going and warms up my body and gently thaws me out. I then reach a stage when the warmth from within reaches the cold from without and pretty soon the cold is banished as my body surrounds itself with the warmth it has itself produced.

It always amazes me how quickly night falls in winter. When I start my walk the sky is a light blue and the moon has just risen and the white clouds are still streaked with pink, but within moments the light fades and the sky settles into an inky blueness in which the moon gleams like a round, beaming pearl. The only indication of the day departed is the halo of light which still shines in the west, a gentle, lingering farewell from the sun.

My nose catches whiffs of wood smoke that waft out from the chimneys. Bouquets of fragrances that indicate which wood is being burnt. Some sharply aromatic, some pungent and smoky but all delicious. I picture flames leaping up through the wood as it slowly crumbles into ash. And I cannot help wondering how even during the last leg of its journey from soil to ash the tree still gives us warmth and light. Can I be as selfless, I wonder, can I be as giving?

These are a few of my favourite songs ...

1. Mozart's Concerto No.21 - Andante, also known as the Elvira Madigan theme.




2. The Theme song from the movie 'Summer of 42'




3. Theme from 'Godfather' (Speak softly love)




4. How great thou art - Elvis Presley



5. Amazing Grace - Hayley Westentra

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.




6. Love me tender - Elvis Presley

Love me tender,
Love me sweet,
Never let me go.
You have made my life complete,
And I love you so.

Love me tender,
Love me true,
All my dreams fulfill.
For my darlin I love you,
And I always will.

Love me tender,
Love me long,
Take me to your heart.
For its there that I belong,
And well never part.

Love me tender,
Love me dear,
Tell me you are mine.
Ill be yours through all the years,
Till the end of time.

Just a thought ...

Do not give all of yourself to any one person or thing or activity or idea, you are too huge and immense to be held in another person's hands. Only life can hold you, only the universe can…...

Stillness .....

"To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."

- Lao Tsu

Renunciation

It is hard to live the life of renunciation;
its challenges are difficult to find pleasant.
Yet it is also hard to live the householder's life;
there is pain when associating with those
among whom one feels no companionship.
To wander uncommitted is always going to be difficult;
why not renounce the deluded pursuit of pain?

Dhammapada verse 302