Perfect at Every Moment

The world is not imperfect or slowly
evolving along a long path to perfection.

No, it is perfect at every moment
It seems to me that everything that exists is good--
death as well as life,
sin as well as folly.

Everything is necessary,
everything needs only agreement,
my assent, my loving understanding;
then all is well with me
and nothing can harm me.

~~Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Lately, I have found myself vacillating between opposites, feeling as if my small boat is rocking madly on very rough water. This can be disconcerting, but fortunately, I have not remained too long in any one state. 

Several days last week old aches and pains revisited bringing some discomfort and psychological resistance. It was interesting to become the observer, watch the experience of my body and mind, and let go of all expectations. Nothing magical happened, but eventual the pain dissolved. 

I dreamed about the "painbody" Eckhart Tolle describes in his book, The Power of Now, and wondered how much of my discomfort might be attached to this energetic feature of my being. Tolle contends there is an energy form of emotional pain accumulated from life experiences not faced and accepted in the moment they happened. These old emotions can be triggered and new painful situations occur. So, I'll continue to be the observer and life will reveal its mysteries when the time is right.

I visited a friend who has been in the hospital for a couple of weeks and past memories of family members struggling with similar health issues began to haunt me. I recognized my attachment to wanting everything to be "okay" and I let go. Thoughts trickled into my consciousness like water slowly dripping from an old faucet.

This quote from Siddhartha reminds me that I am okay. Everything is as it is supposed to be. More than that "everything that exists is good." I just need to come into the understanding that the universe doesn't make mistakes. The universe is perfect in each moment.

Everything truly is necessary and perhaps, it is only our limited perceptions that bring doubt and judgment. As I look back on my life, it is clear that everything has its place and its time. All is well.

Gifts

The Gift of Gravity

(excerpt)

All that passes descends,

and ascends again unseen

into the light: the river

coming down from sky

to hills, from hills to sea,

and carving as it moves,

to rise invisible,

gathered to light, to return

again. "The river's injury

is its shape." I've learned no more.

We are what we are given

and what is taken away;

blessed be the name

of the giver and taker.

For everything that comes

is a gift, the meaning always

carried out of sight

to renew our whereabouts,

always a starting place.

And every gift is perfect

in its beginning, for it

is "from above, and cometh down

from the Father of lights."

Gravity is grace.

~ Wendell Berry ~

I first found Wendall Berry's poetry in a collection edited by Roger Housden entitled Risking Everything. The poem chosen for the anthology was "The Peace of Wild Things." In it he speaks of "resting in the grace of the world," and how often I think of that lying in the night's stillness.

When I travelled to New Hampshire with my sisters this spring, it was a gift of grace. We live across the country from each other; so time together is especially treasured. This May's visit is remembered not by the doing, but by the being.

In each other's presence we found this little river. It was clear and swift, carrying gifts, forging a liquid path, renewing our spirits, bringing laughter and light-hearted play. Time stood still, gravity grounding us on this beautiful earth. Every gift is perfect; every gift is grace.