Occasions of joy

I sit here,
Dappled by the sun filtering
through the leaves, a child chases a pigeon,
the old man naps there on the bench,
a white moth flits by,
occasions of joy,
always right here.
--Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, in Most Intimate: A Zen Approach to Life's Challenges.

Between dinners with friends and family, between rain showers, among drifts of petals from the Japanese magnolia and from cherry trees, between bouts of laughter and sweeps of silence, we are reading this marvelous little book, just released, by Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara.

O'Hara says, clearly and simply and with an appearance of ease, that intimacy with ourselves, with the earth, and with each other is what we are all seeking. "To offer your body and mind to another is to offer love and compassion. It is to honor and bless your mutual humanity. It is the gateway of great joy and kindness." We do find it so.

And there is this. Grace has been writing the most amazing blog posts about her youth in northern Africa. In this one she writes about Sufi principles, and I have to wonder why we don't all live every day of our lives by those principles. They are so clear and fine and true.