Summer's End

And you find yourself on a deck in the midst of the Autumn chill, aware of things you’ve seen many times before, yet apprehending them now as if for the first time. Trees surround you; the specificity of their leaves and their growth patterns are a source of never-ending fascination. 

A natural soundtrack plays: the sound of the distant highway breathing dances with late afternoon birdsong, the trilling of insects. You look about and you realize you are in paradise. Both within and without, your bliss is endless. This is indeed a joyous time: the air is cold and crisp; the pale orb is on the rise as the brighter one descends, painting the sky a riot of pastels. 

This is the heart of mindfulness, you realize. There is no craving in this moment, no aversion, none of the tyranny of the urgent. Here, now, you are aware of your deep connection to every spiritual and physical ancestor that has led you to become the discrete conscious entity you are. Your chair is like a lotus flower, and you sit beautifully in it; there is no agenda to follow and no task to complete. 

Winter is on its way; woodsmoke and peace are in the air. You know there are those whose great wish is to turn the world into a charred shell of itself, but you smile in the realization that they have no chance against the innumerable enlightened spirits meditating in this moment. We are intent on creating a beautiful garden that nourishes life of every kind. It is our intention to liberate suffering sentient beings everywhere, to achieve and sustain deep enlightenment, to send waves of compassion further and further into the realms of conscious beings. Without distinction, we offer our benediction, a world of happiness and contentment for every sentient creature on the earth. 

Welcome to a time of deep mindfulness of the fall of the year. It is Samhain, the summer’s end.