Pace

When I allow externals to rule my thoughts,
When I am caught up in recreating the past,
When I obsess about future possibilities,
My pace is rapid, frenetic, sporadic, and uneven.

When I am centered,
When I focus on the only reality, the Here and Now,
When I am at one with all things,
My pace is slower, calmer, steadier, and regular.

At those times I am like a giant oak
Bending in the wind -
Flexible, yet resilient,
Responding, yet unknowing of externals,
Each breath like a soft wind, bathing my branches in serenity.

Then I become totally unaware of pace,
And I know all there is – and nothing at all.
I feel each experience only now, when it is real.
Whether that experience be positive or negative,
The end result is Joy.

HM 12/28/03 ©