February 16, 2024
“Those who are awake live in a state of constant amazement.” The Buddha
On this third day of Lent, the quotation that I sit with comes from Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as The Buddha (‘the Awakened’), who was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher living in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and who founded Buddhism. I know this from reading Wikipedia. 😊 Buddha’s search sounds similar to the anonymous seeker’s own search that I mentioned yesterday in my blog, a longing for something beyond self-centeredness and egoism.
The word “buddha” itself means to be awake, to observe, to attend, to learn, to open up, to be conscious, to be present. Jesus the Christ said the same thing in his many reminders and commands “to wake up,” including six times in Chapter Thirteen of Mark’s Gospel alone. Yet how easy it is to fall into a constant lull, stick our heads in the sand, or allow distractions to carry us away from what is. . . and away from who we are and are meant to be.
Amazement can be a two-edged sword. I admit that I am often negatively amazed by what is currently happening in the world around me. Often, that negative amazement obscures the positive amazement that happens when I pay attention to the acts of kindness that happen every single day; the faithful changing of the seasons; the opening of the first flower in spring; the steaming cup of coffee with just the right amount of milk; the reassurance of my cat’s purr; the very fact that I opened my eyes this morning and got out of bed.
Being awake to amazement also includes listening to and watching our own behavior. Why did I react the way I did? I never knew I felt like that! What am I doing without even being aware I am doing it? When am I simply going through motions? What am I missing or not seeing because of my mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical absences? I’m sure the list is a long one.
We each have been given the gift of a life. Do we want to spend it numb and asleep, or do we want to experience it to the fullest, with eyes and hearts and minds wide-open? The latter choice is the one, I believe, that most blesses us and the world.
Blessings ~ Rosemary
Waking Up
Redbud limbs accept
dawn’s teardrops etched in crystal
breath becomes whisper
(c) Rosemary McMahan
Spirit Reflections 