Dust in My Eyes

Our secluded Airbnb casita in Marfa, Texas, had a blooming honey locust arching over the patio. The Casita Centro was quite cute although its landscaping, like all of its neighbors, looked brown and dry and blown to bits by the wind.

The wind had been blowing hard all day. In fact, while we were exploring town, we noticed the sky had turned a golden pink-brown. Beautiful! And peculiar. And then I realized, a dust storm was fast approaching.

Dust began to blow into my eyes (always bad for someone who wears contact lenses), and I began to feel the sting of sand pelting my skin, as if I were being sand-blasted. My sweetie and I ran the three blocks back to our stalwart casita.

After the Buddha was enlightened, he thought he would not teach because explaining the Dharma to people would be too vexing. But then, a deity begged him to teach, saying there are people with little dust in their eyes. So for the sake of those with little dust in their eyes, the Buddha taught for 45 years.

Jesus said something similar when he said, "Those who have ears, let them hear."

Sometimes we feel we have a lot of dust in our eyes. We just can't see past whatever is blocking our view. But sometimes, our hearts are open, our eyes can see clearly now, and we can smell the fragrance of the sweet Dharma.