Today,
On Widening Circles,
The unrepeatable miracle of this moment.
There is this little beach I go to most summers on an island off the coast of Tuscany.
I love it because its shore is made of these small colorful stones that tease you into the sparkling blue Mediterranean sea.
Every stone is a unique work of art,
Different from all others in color,
Pattern,
Shape,
And texture.
As I was studying them in my hand one day,
Completely mesmerized,
I realized that time is like these stones.
Every moment is a unique,
One-of-a-kind experience,
Washed up from the vast ocean of time,
Different in shape,
Pattern,
Color,
And texture.
So today,
Let's dive into the particulars of every moment and see them for the unique marvels that they are.
I hope this meditation will infuse a sense of felt wonder,
Awe,
And gratitude for your day.
Enjoy.
You can break open this meditation by taking the deepest breaths you have taken in your day.
Remind yourself of what it means to breathe,
And let these breaths swing the door wide open to receive the present moment.
Give yourself permission to set down any worries or concerns,
As if you are arriving to a warm,
Guesthouse after a long day of travel.
You can now set your bags down,
Knowing you will be well taken care of.
Allow your body to let go and fully inhabit this unhurried moment,
Nowhere to go,
No one to be right now except your effortless self,
In whatever state you find yourself in.
Allow your emotions to just be as they are,
Without trying to resolve them or make them go away.
Let them warm themselves on the hearth of your heart,
And wrap a blanket of love around them.
Unclench your jaw.
Allow your face to soften and melt down,
Like honey slowly pouring from a spoon,
Surrendering to gravity.
Give yourself some slow,
Delicious rolls of the neck,
Both ways,
And let the tension roll out.
Allow your arms to hang heavy,
Like lead,
Without the need to accomplish,
Do,
Or solve.
Let your belly flop open,
Effortlessly riding the rise and fall of your breaths,
Like a field of dancing grass yielding to the movement of wind.
You can start unbuckling your coat of armor,
And let your soft animal body shine.
Allow your legs to hang down,
Like ripe fruit on the vine.
They've been working so hard to get you from one place to another.
Surrender them to rest now.
As you nestle yourself deeper and deeper into this moment,
Like a plump bumblebee nestling into a bloom,
Gently open yourself to the awareness that this moment is unlike anything that has ever been,
That ever will be.
Every detail,
Every sensation,
Every breath,
A unique,
Unrepeatable experience.
Have you ever thought of that?
Feel the air as it drifts past you,
The way it caresses your skin,
Cool and gentle,
More warm and still,
Distinct in a way it will never be again.
Listen to the sounds around you,
The notes of life softly humming,
Each sound,
Each pause,
Never to be repeated in just this way.
Now start feeling into yourself,
Also as a singular experience,
One that never was since the dawn of creation.
Every crevice on your skin,
All the whorls on your fingertips,
All the shades of color that comprise you is a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the fabric of time.
Every strand of hair,
Every heartbeat,
Every cell in your body is a unique,
Unrepeatable work of art chosen to be exhibited in this gallery of life,
One that contributes to the collective beauty and wonder of now.
Receive yourself as an unrepeatable experience in the history of time.
I invite you to ponder,
Why are you trying so hard to be different?
Instead of chasing goals to stand out,
Why not just receive your own uniqueness now?
Cherish yourself right now as this momentary marvel,
And let any effort to be something you're not just fall away.
Now notice inside yourself every emotion present,
Whether that's sadness,
Joy,
Anger,
Fear,
Or an amalgam of them all.
Notice how they're not the same from day to day,
Even moment to moment.
If you look with keen attention,
You'll see that the joy or grief you feel today is not the same as the joy or grief you felt yesterday,
Or even a few minutes ago.
All your emotions are as unique as the pebbles on the beach I mentioned earlier,
Deserving of your fresh attention.
Spend some time now feeling into their unique contours and shades,
As if you were picking up a pebble and studying it.
Notice the unique shade of fear,
The unique curvature of joy,
The unique smear of love,
The unique,
Shattering twists and turns of grief.
Receive your emotions,
Not as static,
But fluid beings,
Changing from moment to moment in their unrepeatable dance.
Now,
Open your eyes for a moment and let your awareness expand,
Softly embracing the elements around you.
Every drop of dew,
Every shadow,
Every strand of vapor swirling out of your teacup,
Every rumble of the lawnmower,
Every blossom,
Every flapping wing,
Every gleam of starlight—all unique,
Once-in-a-lifetime appearances.
Take in these elements as the singular performances that they are.
Consider the countless threads of existence that have woven themselves together to bring you to this precise point in time.
The unfathomable number of heartbeats,
Breaths,
Dreams,
Struggles,
Thoughts,
And actions,
All converging into the singular experience you are having right now.
Feel how remarkable it is to bear witness to this moment,
This fleeting symphony that will never play again in the exact same way,
As if life has orchestrated a concert made just for you.
Allow gratitude to start blossoming inside your heart as you receive these moments fully.
May this understanding continue to infuse your days with wonder.
Thank you so much for taking your precious time and journeying with me today.
I'm Dandan Lu.
Until next time.
