Samsara

My friend who was driving the car, pointed out the cat on the hat and asked if he should stop the car. I waffled; he encouraged. I already had my camera out in my lap, so it was nothing to run out of the car for the photo.
The cat gave a purring grin (though he wouldn’t keep his face towards the camera, too busy was he looking at something down the street). The guy asked if I would give some money so that he and the cat could get something to eat. Sure; I was happy to give them a dollar for their offering.
I thought about how much I appreciated being reminded of how we can use needing to get by, when getting by can be so challenging, to spur creativity and connection instead of letting it beat us down.

Not even for a blink of Siva’s eye will this Dome be here.

A place to drink in the beauty. For information on how to help preserve the azalea collection (which is under siege from budget cuts), please visit: “Save the Azaleas.”
What do you see when you walk down the street or into a room? Do you see more or less depending on whether the surroundings are new to you or familiar? John Friend has said that when leading a class teachers need to be able simultaneously to see the whole room (and how everything and the students are in relationship to each other in the room), each student as a part of the whole and as a whole person, and the individual alignment of each student.
What it takes to do this is the ability to be completely soft, spacious, and open in our seeing (“open to grace”) and also well enough educated and experienced to appreciate and understand the details. I think that when we can see both the big picture and the details simultaneously, we have the greatest opportunity to experience the most of life, are more likely to be able to look for the good, and to make the most positive changes.