Glimpse by Philip Wallbridge
I’ve learnt sometimes things fall apart in life. It happened to me recently. Things built up I couldn’t let go of or process, so there was an inevitable falling apart.
A few days later, as I was piecing myself back together, I was walking towards the Malvern hills. I was more present now. Things felt fresher and more vibrant. As I walked on to a wooded path, I noticed how many leaves were lying gently there in a beautiful mosaic. I realised a tree is always shedding its leaves each year. It does it quietly and gracefully. It doesn’t seem to cling on to its leaves. And those leaves are essential for the ecosystem. The system needs things to fall apart and be let go of. Just as, perhaps, we do. Things are impermanent. By letting go and opening up, new things can enter and grow. The wound is where the light enters as Rumi said. I used to think it sounded clever so I would say it. The depth of its meaning is starting to dawn on me more and more.
I won’t be the same as I was a few weeks ago. Maybe I’m never the same as I was a few weeks ago. And things falling apart sometimes can, perhaps, be a positive thing. It reminds us we aren’t infallible and inviolate. We are vulnerable, constantly changing creatures with bombu (“ordinary person”) nature. Perhaps I’m learning to embrace that vulnerability and ordinary nature, rather than fight it. It’s ok to fall apart sometimes.
Namo Amida Bu
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