Dear friends,
Today I would like each of us to pause to consider the breath as the key to mindful and compassionate living.
We must therefore begin by stopping for a few moments to notice the breath.
Let us take a few mindful breaths.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I am aware that I am breathing out.
Just slow down,
Stop and breathe.
Breathing in mindfully,
Breathing out mindfully.
Bringing body and mind together,
Unusually together in the one place.
A rare coming together for most of us.
Just breathing in,
Just breathing out.
This constant and mostly unnoticed transformation of the air as it enters and leaves our bodies is a reminder of the transformation which we can and must try to bring about in the world around us.
Sometimes harshness or unpleasantness comes to meet us and takes us by surprise and we find we have to breathe it in in a sense.
If we can respond mindfully we will discover that the warmth of understanding and compassion can be breathed out in response to this unwelcome assault.
Just by breathing in,
Just by breathing out.
But this calm response requires practice.
It's no more natural than the playing of a musical instrument and as we know the successful playing of any musical instrument requires repeated practice.
Returning like for like when we are under attack is very unlikely to solve a problem.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a response which will leave all of us blind and hungry.
The flower that would have opened under the influence of the gentle warmth of softness and compassion closes tightly in the colder air.
And just as music can soothe a troubled heart our compassionate response to difficult situations can help reduce the sum total of trouble and pain in the world.
So although we may sometimes find that we have to breathe in pain,
We can discover within us the strength to breathe out healing in any difficult situation.
We can pour oil over the troubled waters that surround us by breathing in and breathing out.
So let us return to the breath for a few moments.
Breathing in I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out I am aware that I am breathing out.
Breathing in the cool air.
Breathing out warmed and compassion.
And just for now letting things be.
The world has turned without our intervention for hundreds,
Thousands,
Millions,
Billions of years.
So let it turn without us for these few moments of quietness.
As we breathe in in awareness and as we breathe out in awareness.
Sometimes in trying to reach these quiet moments we can become aware of ripples of restlessness.
We notice the stresses of daily life.
Feelings that we would like to calm.
Feelings that we feel we need to calm.
On occasion we experience a vague anxiety,
Something troubling us,
A trouble sitting there in the back of our minds.
In these times it helps to remember that through the operation of providence we have been brought safely to this point.
Realizing our past blessings,
Is there any reason to doubt that the same good fortune will not be ours in the future?
Many of the things that trouble us concerning future events never come to pass.
Indeed,
As far back as 500 years ago Michel de Montaigne said,
My life has been filled with terrible misfortune,
Most of which never happened.
If in settling down to meditate we discover something that needs attention,
We should of course set a definite time to give that concern the appropriate attention.
But just for now,
Here in this present moment,
Let us relax so much the better to be able to meet the opportunities of today and the possibilities of tomorrow.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I am aware that I am breathing out.
This meditation is now coming to a close,
But if you have time there is no need to jump up and go running immediately.
After the closing bell you can sit for a little while longer and enjoy the ever present company of your breath.
Your breath is a friend who is near you at all times.
Take one breath away.
Namaste.
