Dear Friends,
I'm sure many people listening to this meditation.
We recall hearing a sound.
The Sound of Silence.
Sung by Simon and Gareth Wankel.
And its opening words.
Hello darkness,
My old friend.
Those memorable words were the inspiration for this meditation.
But before we reflect on how we might deal with darkness and trouble,
Let's begin by taking a few moments to come to ourselves.
And to an awareness of our existence in the here and now.
So close your eyes,
But only if that feels comfortable for you.
Relax into your chair or onto your cushion.
This is your time of reflection and renewal.
Become aware of your breathing.
There is no need for you to change the pattern of your breath.
Just simply notice you're breathing in and you're breathing out.
We'll pause now for one minute.
To enable us to become present,
Really present.
Welcome back.
Is there any way in which we might begin to treat darkness and trouble as an old friend?
I know this seems to go against the grain.
Naturally,
We do not go out looking for trouble.
In fact,
We do all we can to try to avoid it.
And so we should.
We are seekers of the very opposite of trouble.
Happiness.
No less a person than the Dalai Lama himself.
Tells us that the purpose of life is to strive for happiness.
The happiness the Dalai Lama refers to.
Is not the superficial feeling of instant pleasure.
But the deeper happiness and peace that comes from living a life based on compassion.
But even a life dedicated to the ideals of compassion and kindness.
Will have its ups and downs.
Of which we are all too familiar.
Every so often,
We will all find darkness and trouble.
Knocking on her door.
So what are we to do in these unwelcome moments?
The 13th century Persian Sufi mystic Rumi.
Offers these words in his well-known poem,
The Guest House.
You must have heard it,
I'm sure.
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning,
A new arrival.
Joy.
Depression and meanness.
Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them on.
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture.
Still,
Treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought.
The shame,
The malice.
Meet them at the door laughing.
And invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
Words there from Ruby.
Can we manage to find a lesson in these words?
What if the next time anxiety knocked on your door?
The next time you felt yourself overcome by grief or worry.
What if?
Instead of reaching for the nearest distraction.
TV.
Snack box to drink.
You simply said.
Hello trouble,
My old friend.
Sit down.
I see you.
In the Simon & Garfunkel sound.
The hello is followed by the words,
I've come to talk with you again.
This invitation to talk to darkness and trouble calls for courage.
Most of the time,
I suspect we try the opposite approach.
We rummage in our toolbox and we reach for avoidance.
We steer clear of the difficult feelings,
The fears,
The grief.
And especially the difficult conversations.
We hold back from exposing our vulnerability.
We are fearful of letting go.
Trusting people.
Basically,
What it is is.
.
.
We are afraid to have confidence in tomorrow.
So what do we do instead?
We reach for the business.
For the noise.
Anything at all except the silence.
And yet,
The simple fact is this.
All the things we run from are still there when we return.
The unexamined grief.
The unexpressed worry.
These do not become less by looking away from them.
The fear and the anxiety are not eliminated by our efforts at distraction.
Yes,
We may all have read Rumi's poem and we enjoy the idea.
But we find it hard to accept the truth of his words.
Be grateful for whoever comes.
In moments such as these moments when you're listening to this.
We must be thankful for the practice we are engaged in right now.
Mindfulness asks us to be present to reality.
Present to what really is going on inside us and around us.
It helps us to turn towards the challenge.
When our inclination is to look the other way.
Mindfulness is a way of gently befriending ourselves and our experiences.
Not only good experiences.
But what might seem to us to be the bad.
When they come knocking on the door,
Let's remind ourselves that these difficult experiences and feelings might just be the messengers we need to hear.
We have experiences of loss.
Her grief needs to be listened to.
We have that nagging cough or pain.
This might suggest it's time to see our doctor.
We feel alone.
May be friendless.
Loneliness is an invitation to open the door to a friend.
To take the step of asking for help.
What would you do if someone asked you for help?
You would respond with kindness of course.
Remember always that other people are ready to respond with kindness to you.
Never hesitate to take a step towards them.
Encourage.
Instead of turning the other way.
We might come to notice that these unwelcome thoughts remind us that something is going on in our lives,
Something that needs our attention.
So let's practice this right here and right now in this present moment.
Once again,
Settle yourself into your seat or onto your cushion.
Feel the weight of your body being supported by the wonderful invisible force of gravity.
And once again.
Notice you're breathing in and you're breathing out.
Now gently and honestly ask yourself this.
How am I feeling right now?
Is there anything troubling me at this very moment?
It might be a regret about the past.
But remember,
The past is the past.
It can't be changed.
But it is a valuable source of lessons for the future.
You might find yourself concerned about the future.
Worries about the future are an invitation to do something now.
To make the future better.
So whatever the trouble is.
Whatever it is,
Welcome it for a change.
Hello,
Troubled my old friend.
I see you.
I hear your message.
Thank you for the reminder.
Know all the best.
Leave it with me.
Yes,
I will do what I need to do.
I'll see you the next time you're passing by.
Very often,
You might find that this conversation,
Or something like it,
This acknowledgement,
Will be enough to set your mind at ease.
Because you know,
Most of our troubles come from not facing what needs to be done.
What needs to be faced.
And what about procrastination?
Procrastination delays the resolution and it means we carry the weight around much further and for much longer than is necessary.
Having a conversation without trouble.
Accepting the reality of it.
And deciding what needs to be done,
Not necessarily in this very moment.
But acceptance and acknowledgement of what needs to be done.
This releases a heavy weight and allows us to move on.
You might even have found some release in the last few moments in that practice that we've just completed.
So to conclude our reflection.
Let us be encouraged by the fact that every new day is an invitation to begin again.
The start again.
And inspired by this positive idea.
The next time we hear trouble knocking on our door.
Instead of locking the door.
Closing the blinds.
Turning on the TV,
Reaching for that instant fix.
Finding any distraction we can.
Let's instead follow Rumi's advice.
Welcome and entertain the visitor.
And now you know the greeting.
Hello trouble,
My old friend.
You've come to talk with me again.
Come in for just a few moments.
I'm listening.
Namaste.
