Circles
Image by Tu-2
The weather is cool and the temperature has fluctuated depending on where we have been but today, it sits at 57 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Saturday.
The basic form is circles. There is a huge lesson in the form - no beginning, no end. Even after what we call "life" there seems to be more, although we may not fully understand today, what that "more" might be.
What about the term "living Christ" - Isn't that a term that begins to surface the idea that the spirit of one's existence is as important as the body that the spirit inhabited for a while? There have been so many encounters with spirits of those whose lives created opportunities for our capacity to care, to extend kindness, to amplify love. Of course, spirit has also delivered times of misery as well. The aspects of how we live and move in the world reveal themselves beyond what we may recognize while a person is still breathing in this world.
Circles are our teacher - in them, we are reminded of the infinite, there is no coming and going, and that all things are interconnected. There is something very magical about the shape - its lack of rough and pointy edges, its invitation to consider taking a look at things from many points of view, and its ability to move across space in a smooth and speedy fashion. We put circles to work, and it is easy to move tons of "stuff" whether it's four weeks on a vehicle, three wheels on a barrel, or two wheels on a bike. If we want to put the circle in a formation to create a path to walk in contemplation, there is some kind of energy that draws you into the physical labyrinth of experiencing what it means to "return to the center". When we make promises and want to symbolize the promise, rings are placed into service. And if we need to engage in serious talk with one another we find ourselves sitting in circle. There, we can experience the energy of the spoken and unspoken. Circles are constantly in service.
Look at the flowers, the trunk of a tree - they tell us of how important this form is to maintaining life, marking time. The sun and moon - these huge entities in the galaxy appear to us as circles. When we think about humans, we can appreciate that some behaviors and patterns of thought are "circular" - bad habits, good habits, thoughts that return again and again for no purpose other than it being a tendency that can be empowering or destructive.
Something about circles - they are everywhere and emerge in every aspect of our existence. In Zen, we break it so that there can be a chance for the mystery to enter. Cannot say what that mystery may be; but can say that the practice of stillness and silence is one way to both hold the circle and let it go so that there is a chance for mystery to enter.