I know the above in a modified form about meditation and silence. As told from a Quaker community that would normally breathe together for 10 minutes. As the story goes, in a very busy time, the person leading the gathering acknowledges the busyness. “I know we have much to do today and that there is much tension. Thus, we will not breathe together for 10 minutes. Rather, we will breathe together for 30 minutes.”
It says something about stillness. It says something about emptying. It says something about ways of being wise and present that contradict many cultural patters of rushing and noise.
So, I love this Zen version of the same principle, being in relation to nature. I love the invitation to reclaim the awareness that we humans are nature. It is true for me that my body needs to know and encounter the sky, the trees, the wind. Where I live it also includes mountains, forest, lakes and rivers. It is often the spaciousness that enables me to find my way with clarity amidst what is every-present busyness.
On the eve of regathering a beloved Fire & Water Community, a final retreat that is themed as “return,” I find this principle offered through Zen and Quaker awareness, is also living in me with community. I’m looking forward to extra community time. To extra breath. To extra nature. To extra witness that celebrates the courage and clarity to journey deeply within, and to be of service and availability in a world trying to remember its nature.
Good one!