Eleventh Hour Shift in Territory

I lived in my little Zen cottage for over 25 years. Unfortunately, because my income was so low (I worked only part-time so that I can devote much of my time to practice), I was the renter of my cottage, not an owner.

Surrounding my cottage, one amongst a group of cottages, were large Montery Pines. You would have never thought you were in the large city; it was an oasis. The pines scented the air, purified our lives, the winds whispering through their boughs eased our minds and calmed our spirits. In front of my cottage, surrounding a large court, grew verdant gardens of trumpet vines, ivy, more trees and vegetable gardens. I knew the passing of the seasons from the blooming of the various plants and each sets of critters that came to visit us.

The first thing a new property owner did, was to have all the pines cut down. (He didn’t like plants growing next to buildings). Then he worked to cement up much of the gardens around the court so it would be easy-to-care-for property. : )

Outside my kitchen window, where all the fushia, Chinese honeysuckle, and other flowering vines grew, along with the little apple tree, he had it all torn out by the roots and cemented over. There is more, with which the strength I have not to tell you of.

Please, cherish the blessings that you have: your family, your son and daughter, your practice. There is a hole in the sky where a beloved tree once stood, but there can never be a hole in the light of your true spirit

In memory of our lost friends.