Green Beans and Kindness

Here comes the summer garden. I picked my first batch of green beans, and the cherry tomatoes are ripening. I stop by the farmstand on my way home every day, and buy 2 ears of corn for dinner. For the time being, i'm buying tomatoes too so i can have tomato sandwiches for breakfast, for lunch, and, well, for dinner too when i don't get home until 9:30 p.m. Let's eat summer.

Now, we can see the direct connection of food to plate because we're going out to our gardens and harvesting the food that appears on our dinner table, maybe less than an hour later. We know where that plant came from, perhaps we even know where the seed came from. We know the soil, and we know where that soil came from--last year's compost, perhaps.

The source of our thoughts, our actions, our habits, indeed, our personality is lost in the mists of time. Just for today, we watch our thoughts with care. When we have a stressful thought, we substitute the opposite, which is often loving-kindness. Loving-kindness for ourselves, first of all.

Serve yourself a nice green helping of goodwill and kindness toward yourself. Now.

Party Time

Party Time is blooming! The tiny white astilbe-like flowers are unremarkable on this hot pink-and-green foliage. Also called Pink-and-Green Joseph's Coat, you'll probably choose one of these names instead of the Latin name Alternanthera.

I bought Party Time instead of impatiens last summer and then brought one plant indoors in the fall. It makes me very happy every time i look at it.

The Pali word metta (Sanskrit: maitri) is often translated as loving-kindness. Sometimes it is called loving-friendliness or goodwill. Other possibilities include amity or benevolence.

We can choose the translation that resonates with us. Because whichever word we choose, metta makes us happy.

Extreme Darkness

Today is winter solstice--a day of extremes--the shortest day, the longest night. The year 2011 has slipped away, never to return. Our life is slipping away. One year: Gone.

Shall we take the hedonistic approach to "eat, drink, and be merry"? Shall we consume as much as our pocketbooks and consumer society will allow? Or does that wind up feeling like "empty calories"? Full of stuff, stuffing ourselves and our homes, yet oddly dissatisfied, oddly empty.

In the Buddha's time (and also in the Middle Ages), some people thought they could attain heaven by self-mortification.

These are the extremes: hedonism or self-mortification.

But let us consider The Middle Way, the way between extremisms, a path of moderation. In this time of extreme darkness, how might we practice the Middle Way between self-judgment ("I'm so bad.") and ego-tripping ("Look at me! Aren't I great!")?

"Be a lamp unto yourself," the Buddha said. In these days of darkness--external or internal--notice your inner light. Sit. Meditate--even if only for 5 minutes.
Notice the flicker of kindness in your heart. Fan that ember so that it glows throughout the front of your body. Spread that feeling of goodwill throughout the back of your body. Spread it through the right side of your body. Spread it through the left side of your body.
Sit. Feel the body filled with kindness.

Forcing Hyacinths

I'm forcing hyacinths. The naked bulbs sit in their vases, suspended above water. They will sit there in the dark cool basement for 3 months or so before the flowers begin to sprout and unfurl.

In our lives, we sometimes force ourselves to be nice because we think that being nice is the same as being good.

But goodness is a skill that we can develop. The instructions are in the beginning lines of the Metta Sutta.

This is what is to be done
by one who is skilled in goodness,
and who seeks the path of peace.

Let them be able & upright,
straight-forward & gentle in speech,
humble & not conceited,
contented & easily satisfied,
unburdened by duties & frugal in their ways,
peaceful & calm & wise & skillful,
not proud & demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing
that the wise would later reprove.

Consider pondering one of these pairs of skills at the end of your meditation. A "nice" person might be gentle in speech, but not "straight-forward." How in the world can we do both? How can we say "No" (or even "No!") with an open heart?

Allow these phrases to grow in the dark of your sub-conscious. Some day you will be surprised by their blooming!

My Honey Loves Bees

My honey has fallen in love with bees this spring. He walks out the front door toward his car, and comes to a halt beside the rhododendron where a dozen bumblebees are rolling around in the pinky-purple blossoms.

In the past, he has run away from bees as fast as possible, waving his arms about his head. He has dared me to mow near the nests of ground bees--and i have done so unscathed. I walk near bees calmly. I walk in beauty. And so far they haven't bothered me.

My heart is warmed by seeing my honey's goodwill toward bees. Maybe it's the bee pollen he's been eating on his cereal every morning for the past month in an effort to ward off spring allergies. This year, he enjoys seeing the bees pollening. This year he is literally one with the bees and their pollen.