Write a haiku.

Leaves dance like glitter
Subdued thoughts of emptiness
Meditation – Peace 

Blogging challenge day 2; about my haiku…

There was a documentary I recently watched on Netflix called, Mile…Mile & a Half, about the John Muir Trail in California. I would rate The Muir Project documentary 3-4 stars, but the trail was really neat and beautiful. They did capture a lot of really great footage. In the video they began their trek toward Bear Creek on the JMT, and came into a lot of aspen trees.  One of the hikers in the film commented on their movement and how they seemed to dance in the wind. It was very beautiful, and reminded me of leaves dancing and glittering. The aspen trees in this film made an impact on me I suppose, and that is how I came to the first line in my haiku.

Subdued thoughts. When I go an adventure, especially one in nature, I love to listen to everything around me, reflect inward and leave that place with a piece of me changed. I never want to go home the same; I sincerely believe it is important for us to adapt, grow, become a better person with each new face we meet and each new step we take. Nature has a way of giving us that bit of opportunity.

Emptiness. Emptiness is not what you might think. As a Buddhist, I have learned that it is not “nothingness,” but rather infinite possibilities. In The Huffington Post article, Emptiness: The Most Misunderstood Word in Buddhism, Buddhist writer and teacher, Lewis Richmond, says:

“Emptiness is not complete nothingness; it doesn’t mean that nothing exists at all. This would be a nihilistic view contrary to common sense. What it does mean is that things do not exist the way our grasping self supposes they do. In his book on the Heart Sutra the Dalai Lama calls emptiness ‘the true nature of things and events,’ but in the same passage he warns us ‘to avoid the misapprehension that emptiness is an absolute reality or an independent truth.’ In other words, emptiness is not some kind of heaven or separate realm apart from this world and its woes.”

So it is for these reasons that I chose “Subdued thoughts of emptiness” for the second line in my haiku.

Meditation – Peace. It is through my Buddhist practice, dedication and ultimate sight of goal that I strive to meditate daily and find peace. Through meditation I see that I become calmer inside and thus find peace and clarity within everyone and everything around me. Mediation is a tool, and peace an objective.