It is very,
Very hot today.
I am beneath the searing,
Dry heat that Surya,
The sun god,
Casts down upon us,
Especially on this side of the earth,
And in its most inconsistent but evocative way.
We are given only a few days' warning that we shall soon be impatient and moody for a while,
Awaiting for the wind to change and the cool to come,
To restore our equilibrium once again.
And yet whilst the sweltering,
Unruly north wind blows,
Autumn is approaching,
Silently making its way into March.
The leaves are turning golden and beginning to fall.
It seems a little early for the trees to shed,
But perhaps Surya has tired them out too.
Autumn's gallant coming is felt every time you walk over its crisp,
Resplendent carpet.
And so I stand,
Ensconced in the middle of the street,
In silence and completely still,
And watch the leaves falling.
In your imagination can you envisage them?
Do this now,
How they slowly drift down and down and down,
Sometimes suspended in the airflow,
Albeit just for a moment or two,
And when they land they arrive in a hushed tone.
For a split second they are still,
And then they gently roll,
Captured by the wind,
Sometimes coming to rest close by,
And sometimes disappearing down the pathway,
To reside in another place,
Out of view,
Far,
Far away.
I watch them frolic about and dance to the turbulent tune of the restless breeze,
And roll and skip and slide and spin.
These are our thoughts,
My friend,
Thoughts falling.
Can you picture the golden hues of cascading leaves,
Falling in slow,
Slow motion,
Down and down to commence their amorous play?
Are you quiet?
Are you still?
Are your eyes closed down,
Whether you be standing up or lying down?
Picture the thoughts tumbling and tumbling and tumbling down,
Each leaf a thought falling from your mind,
Breathe in and out gently and peacefully.
Imagine each thought is a leaf and each leaf is a thought,
Observe them as they leave you and serenely move on.
Breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Slowly,
In and out.
Watching them fall,
Breathing in and out.
Watch the leafy thoughts as they briefly suspend in the current of air,
And then again as they reach the soil,
Still for a moment in time.
You see,
These are our pauses,
The flashes of pure stillness,
Silence,
And the rest between the thoughts.
Breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
All thoughts frolic and caper about,
Like the desires of a small child who never wishes you to let go of its hand,
Wanting you to continually pay attention and play.
Breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out.
Watching the thoughts fall,
Sometimes the thoughts just stay,
You choose to stand upon them and crunch them to smithereens,
Or sometimes you just notice them without collecting them and just let them pass by,
No need to gather them,
They're ready to die away anyway.
Just breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out.
Watching the thoughts fall.
As in habit,
You may chase these leaf thoughts at times,
Or just let them float away.
Float away upon the breeze along a pathway to which you no longer belong.
Breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out.
Watching the thoughts fall.
Sometimes emotional turbulence may be influencing these thoughts,
Just as the tempestuous wind flurries the leaves.
Observe them and then let them go.
Just breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out.
In and out.
In and out.
Sometimes the leaves stick to your heels as though they cannot let go and you try to shake them off.
You can do this with your thoughts,
They are behind you now and you are no longer in need of them,
Nor do you want them to attach to you,
Aimlessly tagging along.
Shake them off.
Just breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out.
And then there are those leaves that fall in front of you and stop dead in your tracks.
These are the thoughts that threaten you,
That won't move away,
That stay until you push them out of the way or walk through them without paying homage to them.
Just breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out.
Sometimes the rolling and skipping and sliding and spinning may distract you over and over again.
Let the thoughts float away,
Again down that pathway upon which you no longer traipse.
Come to stillness and sense the peace and tranquility of the leaf thoughts falling.
Falling.
Just breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out,
In and out.
The fall signifies change.
Welcome it.
Let go and allow the new to appear.
Seek harmony that arrives with the new,
The comfort and ease that journeys with them,
And the mystery of the unknown that seeks to find you,
Ready and waiting.
Just breathing in and out,
Slowly and peacefully,
In and out,
In and out.
Rest now amidst the hues reminiscent of cinnamon,
Nutmeg,
Cardamom and cloves,
And allow the quiet to come and the wind to settle.
Perhaps you can smell the earthly aroma of damp soil and the tang of the cool air as you bask in the glory of silence,
Stillness and deep,
Deep peace.
Rest now until we meet again with tenderness.
This is Anne-Marie.
