Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Fresh Coffee and Broken Glass

What do you like? What makes you happy? It's different for everyone. I love a fresh cup of coffee. I appreciate the aroma, the process of making it or receiving it. I was just served one at Freeman's here on Quinpool Road. Yes, it is a temporary enjoyment. Something I can see, feel, touch, taste, smell, and perceive it with my mind. I have missed some cups of coffee, where I was lost in thought or I was just drinking the idea of a cup of coffee and I was too rushed to appreciate the actual experience. So today I practice mindfulness of coffee, and mindfulness of life. Life is short, may as well appreciate it.

Yet, the next thought that my mind churns out is about loss. I think the hope of getting something "good" arises with the psychological shadow of fear, in this case the fear of dropping the clear glass cup. A thought yes, but something we can make use of too. It's possible to just let go of that thought when I see it. Yet if I were to drop the cup, and see broken glass going everywhere, I would also be able to practice compassion. No one wants to drop a cup of coffee and deal with wet broken glass. So may I be free of such suffering, real or imagined, and may all beings also be free of it, and free of hope and fear.

And with that I am signing off and getting back to this  .... cold  ... cup of coffee ;).