#2301 小寒 Lesser Cold
A time of preparation, for the coldest days to come.
The land is white like a canvas, where every stroke is a new tree.
This is the time for family and friends to gather; to share our harvest, our joys, and our gratitude. It is also a time for recollection and examination. How has mine been? I remember mental struggles (due to material and emotions), and spiritual growth. In retrospect, the former is linear while the latter has been exponential. Quite a good deal, isn’t it? Leave the recollection and examination to its time and place. The rest of the year has its own things for us to busy with.
While observing the solar terms last year, I tried the following mantras concurrently to reclaim my world. There are four of them:
Dear, I am here for you.
What are the things that are closest to our hearts and are of most value? Without clarity, low hanging fruits often appear to be the most valuable.
Dear, I know you are there.
We are never alone. There is always someone ahead to follow, and someone behind to help. Look for guidance, inspiration and offer help. It can happen at the same time.
Dear, I know you suffer. That is why I am here for you.
We are all work in progress. Good if you have experience to share, but a listening ear is good enough. That is a great scarcity of our times.
Dear, I suffer. I am trying my best to practise. Please help me.
We are at different places, travelling at different speed and rhythms. Seek advice from those you admire, try it and see whether it works.
It might sound like a conversation with another person. It can be, but here this was a continual conversation with myself. How do we offer help when we ourselves are helpless?
The heart (not the physical one) will always be there for us. We are the ones who forgot how to listen to it, amidst the noise and distraction these days. First, we must isolate from the external world; shut your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind just for a while and listen. It takes time but practice makes perfect. When you hear it, the question (a very important one) is how then do you respond?
“In the depths of winter,
I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus