Let’s face it, it’s nice to share a meal with someone you can relate to.
When I want heartfelt comfort and soul nourishment…it really is immensely satisfying to know that I am in a relationship with a very intimate “Other”…and indeed, the more I surrender (snuggle up) to that Other-ness, the more I recognize that the other enjoys companionship just as much as I do. The meal just tastes better when we’re sharing the same grass.
But just to keep the scales balanced (I am a Libra), I love grazing in the open fields of un-endingness and non-distinction…it’s relaxing, it’s satisfying, there’s no resistance and there’s more than enough to go around.
So let’s face it…it’s good to abide in “both/and”.. which calls me to be a compassionate “other” when life needs “me-othering” and as permeating presence in the pastures of consciousness when distinction just gets in the way.
So, thanks Jesus and thanks Buddha. Even though you are of the same fertile “Ground of Being,” by showing up in different guises, its make sharing the meal more flavorful and standing together… a treat for the infinite be-holder.
Think on’t!
Epilogue:
“On a Walk” by Errol Strider
On a walk…or pacing…
when I really want to focus in…to perceive Essence…
I stare down into grass, dirt or concrete,
for in that focus…mesmerized…
the sweet inner gaze of the “Unfathamobile” filters up to me
And I stare…as into nothing…the ground within…
to walk in the experience
of knowing
that I am…accompanied.
Staring Down in the Grass…
Teeth in the Grass, prayers in the Grass, God…
“Everyday I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight” Mary Oliver begins her poem Mindful and in the end she says to herself “How can you help but grow wise with such teachings as these – the untrimmable light of the world/the ocean’s shine, the prayers that are made out of grass”? And then as she moves into the voice of the Other,Fox in this case (in Straight Talk from Fox)who says to the humans “I see you in all your seasons making love, arguing, talking about God as if he were an idea instead of the grass, instead of the stars, the rabbit caught in one good teeth-wacking hit and brought home to the den. What I am, and I know it, is responsible, joyful, thankful. I would not give my life for a thousand of yours”
This year I will feast my Thanksgiving with the Grass, the Trees, the River of Light that flows over the day, my Heart on fire with the Other, Others, this God-Who-Dwells between the moments of things and is The Things, far and near, Other and Not-Other.
peace and blessing to you, Errol,
Wendy
Wendy, you have such a hugely poetic soul…I feel you so intensely through all your writings!
Blessings and love,
Errol