Sometimes ideas gather momentum and aggregate – coming together like snowflakes that may eventually become an avalanche.
This has been my experience this month; a few simple ideas, which have resonated with me, have started snowballing. I began by thinking about the constant balancing act we face, especially as yogis, of trying to loosen our grip on our attachment to goals without the sense that we are abandoning our ambitions. I’ve often felt that this is completely unattainable but I’ve been inspired to try again with finding “the graceful walk between continuing to put effort into making our preferred reality come true and not allowing our happiness to be controlled by something we do not have” ~ Jung Pueblo
Since then and seemingly by happy accident, I have dipped into a few chapters from The Path of the Empress by Christine Li and one chapter especially lends some more insight for contemplation. So I’d like to share it with you and offer it as an intentional living prompt for this month.
“There is a story of a famous Chinese gardener. When asked
why everything grew so well under his care, the old gardener
replied: ‘I plant the tree and then I leave it in peace. That’s the
entire secret.’
The more something delicate is allowed to develop without
interference, be it a young plant or a child, the more
strongly it will grow, the more nature’s intentions for it will
be realised – as long as it receives sufficient nourishment and
protection from harsh winds.
Life rises out of the Unknown; it is sustained by the elemental
life-force, essence. Whatever is allowed at its outset
to unfold and develop undisturbed will later be stable and
powerful. The wise do not interfere. They trust the Unknown,
the Dao. The Dao has also been compared to the dark and
mysterious womb, the source of all life. From here things
step forth of their own accord into the light, freely and without
interference from outside.”
