For The Love of Little Trees

I really needed to hear my own haiku this morning. The hope in it. Yesterday seemed like a swirl of emotions for no real reason. My neighbours across the street look like they're moving. I consider them an anchor in the neighbourhood yet here I don't even know if they're really moving---just Andre has been clearing out the garage for over a week now and yesterday a mini U-Haul truck was in their driveway.  Moved by a writer friend's post on facebook I wrote a heartfelt message then found out I'd somewhat misinterpreted the situation. Sigh. Well, I think she still felt the love.  But I carried the burden of what I believed to be true until I realised my mistake. Then I carried the burden of my mistake. Lol. Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself!

I needed to remind myself of one of my favourite Buddhist teachings: Two monks came to a raging river. A woman stood on the same side as them, unable to cross. One of the monks picked her up and carried her across, let her down on the other side. Then the monks carried on their journey.  The monk who had witnessed the woman being carried across finally said, "Brother, you know what you did back there? Well, you think it was a noble thing to do but I'm not so sure. We're not supposed to touch women." The other monk replied, "I carried her across the river then forgot about her. Why are you still carrying her?"

Wish I could have remembered this yesterday! Lol. But I moved myself out of my mood, my feeling of not getting things done, of being hard on myself, of fretting that I couldn't be close to people if I didn't even really know what was going on in their lives and I watched a great movie ('A Call to Spy' on Netflix. Based on true stories during WW2. Made me realise that while that war was a call to action, this pandemic war is a call for non-action. ) I also went for a short walk to my den. (woods close to home) And took some pictures. 

I fell asleep last night wondering what my daily haiku, haiku picture and resultant blog would be about today. Maybe the wall colour (teal) and wallpaper border (reminds me of heather) in my bedroom? When I woke up this morning, this haiku arrived fully formed. Exactly what I needed to hear. I love it when our creativity heals ourselves most of all. 

Inertia/ so much sameness/ yet a tiny tree grows/ Day 88 of #100daysofsybhaiku & day 118 of #365daysofsybwriting on intagram

Perhaps you needed to hear it too today? Even when we think nothing is happening, when we're feeling stuck in muddy feelings or a place of non-action, something could be seeding and growing.

Below is a photo of the woods yesterday. Spring here seems to be stalled. I had to search low for the little tree and green growth. But they were there.

May your load be light today.

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