Spiritual Lessons from Nature Part IV

Yesterday was the first full day of spring, and in New England we were greeted with several inches of beautiful white snow rather than the usual tree buds blossoming and crocuses and daffodils blooming.

For me, as a tried and true New Englander, I can usually get just as giddy about a fresh coat of snow as I can about the first wave of color in spring with the gorgeous yellow, purple and pink flowers like forsythia and hyacinths.

And yet, I found myself grumbling about the weather yesterday, and all that came with it like pulling out winter boots again and figuring out childcare for a school snow delay.

This was until I was reminded of the Buddhist concept of beginner’s mind which was popularized by Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher and author Shunryu Suzuki (Roshi) who founded the San Francisco Zen Buddhist Center.

Suzuki Roshi suggested in his book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind:

“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. ”

Staying open and “ready for anything” as Suzuki Roshi recommends is very difficult.  Particularly during times of crisis when the urge to maintain safety and security through familiarity and routine feels paramount- to know what the weather will be (or at least make a good guess) on the first day of spring.

In such moments, beginner’s mind, however counterintuitive it may be, can be the skill that allows us to release our grip on reality and allow it to be exactly as it is. 

There is a poem from the book Go In and In by Danna Faulds that speaks to the very essence of this skill.

LET IT GO

Let go of the ways you thought life

would unfold; the holding of plans

or dreams or expectations – Let it

all go. Save your strength to swim

with the tide. The choice to fight

what is here before you now will

only result in struggle, fear, and

desperate attempts to flee from the

very energy you long for. Let go.

Let it all go and flow with the grace

that washes through your days whether

you receive it gently or with all your

quills raised to defend against invaders.

Take this on faith; the mind may never

find the explanations that it seeks, but

you will move forward nonetheless.

Let go, and the wave’s crest will carry

you to unknown shores, beyond your

wildest dreams or destinations. Let it

all go and find the place of rest and

peace, and certain transformation.

Today I will continue to look for nature’s reminders about how to live skillfully in this human incarnation. I hope you can to.