SPIN CYCLE
The Isolation Blues;
reflections during covid-19
A Constant Turning We spend a lifetime looking for the steady and the reliable the solid and dependable surfaces on which to build our dreams of daily accomplishment a life of substance that does not depend on circumstance accumulation of the material or pursuit of the elusive. What is the rock-hard strata on which I can sink deep the bearings of my being? Loss sorrow grief and impatience are my frequent companions on this long and extended journey this excursion into the variant and the unknown. What I think is constant may simply be passing slower than I can detect. Where would I look to find the spot that does not move? Some say look down between your feet and do not take your eyes from that spot. On that spot (while you do not see anything moving) on that spot is the constant turning of the universe spinning rotating hurdling through space billions and billions of light years travel starting in this spot the beginning of dreams and visions.
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The front door of our house faces south heading towards Houlton, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Miami, Havana, Panama City…(you get the idea). After living on our property for over twenty years now, the familiar view from the front door provides a basic orientation that grounds the spurious emotions, ideas and chores from one week to the next week and from one year to the next. And while the regular environs create a steady backdrop for my daily activities, it can also lull me into thinking that my personal world ends at the distant property line. That’s why I do a “mind-stretch” exercise every once in a while. Here’s how it works. I stand on the granite step outside our front door and face south (usually with a cup of coffee in my hand). Then I look as far as I can see and I notice (or imagine) a slight curvature on the distant horizon as the view starts to wrap itself southward around the planet. This is where Panama City comes in. I keep following the momentum of my viewpoint until it runs out of globe and falls right into outer space. From here I can see the speeding planet careening through space caught in a galaxy mix and a (seemingly) unending universe. Then I reverse the process and I’m right back on my front door step (holding my cup of coffee just a bit tighter). Standing calmly on my front door step I have a greater appreciation of gravity and my particular point of reference on this splendid rock continuing its joyride through the cosmos.
Right now during the coronavirus pandemic and extended societal unrest (with no end in sight) it’s difficult to find a solid reference point of sanity. The old Taoists used to say it doesn’t matter how fast the circle spins as long as you are at the center. The centrifugal force of current events can certainly give you a bad case of mental whiplash, but locating one’s center-point can be a game changer. According to the spiritual experts, the only constant in this constantly changing world (interior and exterior) is the still point from which our own human consciousness emerges. If that sounds confusing, just sit still for a moment and observe your own awareness. Is this the same feeling of awareness that you had when you were seventeen years old? A lot has changed since then (including you), but if you look closely what hasn’t changed is the sense of this clear awareness that you were using then and still using now. Emerson called this “the transparent eyeball” that views the world of activity. When someone says, “I feel like I did fifty years ago, it’s only my body that feels like it’s sixty seven,” they are noticing this amazing experience of timeless awareness. All that just to say, stop and take a break when you need it. The world is not going to stop spinning for any of us so hang on as best you can as we all keep spinning.
Hold the center.
In the woods,
Dave
July 9, 2020