There's a good book titled, "After the Ecstasy, the Laundry" by Jack Kornfield. In it, Kornfield quotes Zen Master Katagiri : "The important point of spiritual practice is not to try to escape your life, but to face it - exactly and completely." This sentiment occupied my mind as I began the transition from a visit to a place I hold deep in my heart, back into non-vacation mode at home. The two-day drive was a transition unto itself...a portal of necessity, and an example of just getting it done - a concept that seems to be woven into the fabric of day-to-day life.
The coastal area of Northern California is as beautiful as it is fragile. It's a spiritual place with an overwhelming number of gifts for the person seeking spiritual restoration. The grand sweep of the beach at Pt. Reyes National Seashore would be enough. The mighty Pacific Ocean always makes me feel like an atom within a speck. Feeling insignificant, while still intensely part of the universe, is a relief you can't understand until you've experienced it. For a brief time, watching the waves roll in, I forgot all of my foibles and mistakes and could simply be present.
I remember going to Kauai once. I loved it there with the trade winds, beaches, and the exotic beauty of the coastline and river banks. But I also remember coming home and being depressed because my life felt mundane and mechanical. It set me to thinking and, over time, changes were made. Now I live in a house I enjoy, in a neighborhood and town that suits me. Colorado is home and I love its rugged beauty and the good people who inhabit my life. No depression these days, even after coming home from my personal Mecca.
The coastal area of Northern California is as beautiful as it is fragile. It's a spiritual place with an overwhelming number of gifts for the person seeking spiritual restoration. The grand sweep of the beach at Pt. Reyes National Seashore would be enough. The mighty Pacific Ocean always makes me feel like an atom within a speck. Feeling insignificant, while still intensely part of the universe, is a relief you can't understand until you've experienced it. For a brief time, watching the waves roll in, I forgot all of my foibles and mistakes and could simply be present.
I remember going to Kauai once. I loved it there with the trade winds, beaches, and the exotic beauty of the coastline and river banks. But I also remember coming home and being depressed because my life felt mundane and mechanical. It set me to thinking and, over time, changes were made. Now I live in a house I enjoy, in a neighborhood and town that suits me. Colorado is home and I love its rugged beauty and the good people who inhabit my life. No depression these days, even after coming home from my personal Mecca.
In the town of Inverness
So many enticing roads
The clouds were magnificent
Even the dreaded salt flats look good in the morning
A California resident
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