Spending time reflecting and opening to the reality of homelessness, threads have appeared & somehow woven themselves in my mind.
Listening to Steve Stucky’s talk – ‘Gratitude’ (worth listening to) he reminded me of a phrase I’ve heard before …’we don’t know what tomorrow will bring’…. and I recall pondering this almost dismissively.
Alongside Dancing Mountains I practice with the Community of Interbeing (COI) and the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. One of the forms is to share reciting their ‘Five Mindfulness Trainings’. As we sat at the last meeting in a cold hall, I was caught by a snippet from the second training ...’remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy’ … and caught my thoughts of returning home to tea & a warm fire; how fortunate and grateful.
Fast forward a week … at the Chester sangha listening to another talk by Steve Stucky, ‘Cultivate Beginner’s Mind. (Another recommendation) I recall the snippet ‘willing to be homeless … the radical notion in Buddhism is to be willing to be homeless, to be willing to be always at the edge of what’s familiar.’ Then he posed the questions: ‘What’s it like to be right at the edge?’ You might take a moment and just imaging …. can you imagine your whole universe has somehow gone.’
Threads were weaving……….
I sat with Steve’s question reflecting if conditions changed and my living changed & my world vanished – if tomorrow was different and I became truly homeless. I was surprised by the depth of fear and discomfort that arose, the mind went into overdrive. And as I continued to sit I recognised how easily I retreat to my world of comforts. When faced with persons on the street I am quiet, avoiding; it’s easier not to say anything or just expressing token concern. Inwardly there’s a reluctance to truly recognise these ‘invisible ones’, to be present, to face the suffering.
So what now? Not sure.
What I am sure about is that there is an intention for 2014, to gently hold the fear; to in some way acknowledge & be present to all those I meet, the visible and the invisible and in some way raise awareness of homelessness through engaging in some visible action with our sangha.
If you feel moved to join us in exploring how Dancing Mountains could come together to explore a way to support an end to homelessness, please let us know at ----directors’ email or Facebook?
~Ko Gan Kath Bennett
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