Sitting puts me in touch with the energy of the season — the energy of fall, the energy of Elul (the month leading up to the New Year in the Jewish tradition). It is no coincidence that this season is the season of beginnings, the season when we return to our studies, to our cushions, to renewing our vows. Every religion, every people must have sensed it. Even we, today, who live in or near cities, can still feel it; not unlike the shepherds of old who secluded themselves in the fields in order to meditate. We sense it because there is no separation of mind and body, because we ARE the whole. So, as the leaves rustle, as the wind picks up, and the scent of fall fills the air, I gassho to my cushion.
Rustling leaves
Scent of cinnamon and lavender
Sitting on my cushion
Life renews itself
