 |
| Buddha On Our Deck |
These remarks echo a series of talks, entitled "Recognizing the Good" by Mark Nunberg, one of the Guiding Teachers at the Common Ground Meditation Center, Minneapolis. I have attended several of his retreats, held in Madison. To listen to the first 44 minute talk
click here. Mark, a nationally known teacher grounded in the Buddhist tradition, lays out practices to counter our tendencies to see what's wrong. You could argue there is a lot wrong these days.
Reflecting Buddhist inspired teachings, Mark encourages accepting what's wrong (including our own faults) while recognizing and appreciating what's good in our lives. Recognizing the good includes celebrating and sharing the good with others. Sharing is important because doing so acknowledges that we are interdependent; plus the sharing of individual good fortunes contributes to humanity's overall well being. It's like there is a reserve of well being and individual sharing adds to this reserve.
Lori and Dave, two friends, have a daily practice that puts Mark's suggestions into practice. Every morning Lori and Dave recognize the good by telling each other what they are grateful for. Mark suggests we do the same before falling asleep. Keeping a gratitude journal is another of Mark's suggestions, as are sharing the good when we visit friends, and after completing a group project celebrate (or at least verbally acknowledge) the good that has been accomplished. I'm planning on doing this during the next Prospect Gardens work session. Much good is the result of our collective efforts to maintain a restored green space with its many environmental and social benefits.
As Mark points out, and as the following poem proclaims, noticing and celebrating the ordinary things in life is an important part of recognizing the good.
In Praise of the Ordinary (Richard Gilbert)
I lift my voice this day in praise of the ordinary:
The endless routines of living:
Life's everyday rituals;
The boring things we do to exist;
The monotonous getting up in the morning;
Eating, working, going to bed at night;
Moving to and fro to make a living;
Enjoying a life.
I celebrate the simple things,
The things to which we give not a second thought:
The miracle of breathing;
The act of eating;
The cadences of daily speech;
The sounds of nature as a simple backdrop
To our complicated lives.
I celebrate leaves falling from the trees
And snow falling from the skies;
The brave persistence of the grass,
And the sleeping flowers of the fields.
Enough, I say, of big things and great things,
And extraordinary things, and ultimate things.
I celebrate the ordinary.
I lift my voice in praise.
I lift up my voice in praise and thanks to those who tended Prospect Gardens on June 17th. As a result of the ordinary act of weeding, you generated a lot of good, that I now gladly share with the virtual universe.
Starting on the left, first row are Becky, Percy and Gregory. Next to my left is Shelia and then Erica, with the big, wonderful smile. Ann, my wife and constant volunteer, took the picture. Not pictured is Laura, another long time volunteer. Percy is another regular Prospect Garden volunteer and she tends other prairie gardens as well.
Thanks Erica and Shelia for returning and a special thanks to Gregory for being a regular this season. Becky, you will always be welcomed back.
Here's Jim who had to leave before the group picture. He's tackling weeds with diligence and a happy smile. Thanks Jim for again joining us.
And not to be forgotten is Alice, who also had to leave before group picture time. Thanks Alice for again joining us and adding to the collective good.
Her daughter just graduated from West High School. More good accomplished, worthy of being shared and celebrated.
Here's Erica. Looks like she is scanning for more weeds while contributing to the collective good.
Just had to include this picture of Gregory, enjoying a cookie and appearing to be in a reflective mood. Gregory, Percy, Laura, and I tackled Bishops Weed that took over a large section on the Fox side of the Gardens. We cleared the section while expecting the return of these tenacious plants.
Perhaps Bishops Weed is an example of a good that has gone astray. Bishops Weed was sold for many years as a good ground cover. Yes, indeed it is a good cover. On the other hand, it's aggressive and out-competes other plants. Early spring native plants don't have a chance of surviving an invasion of Bishops Weed.
Enough of Bishops Weeds' negativity. Here's Becky doing the good work of weeding.
Becky and Gregory completed the Wisconsin Master Naturalist Program, a great example of doing the good. This UW Madison Extension program promotes awareness, understanding, and stewardship of the natural environment. Gregory and Becky completed 40 hours of training and are now part of a statewide network of well-informed volunteers dedicated to conservation service within their communities.
The Gardens are starting to showoff their beauty. Passersby, some on bikes, often shout out "thank you" and other expressions of gratitude as we tend the Gardens. These expressions of gratitude remind me that our acts of tending the Garden benefit many people.
Here's four pictures of the emerging beauty, along with quotes about goodness, for your reflection.
 |
| Elderberry Blossom |
In goodness there are all kinds of wisdom. (Euripides)
 |
| Purple Poppy-Mallow |
Do not disregard the accumulation of goodness, saying, 'This
will come to nothing.' By the gradual falling of raindrops, a jar is filled. (Attributed to Gautama Buddha)
If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there
are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named
Goodness and Forgiveness. (Nelson Mandela)
* Early Milk Weed blooms that will feed any migrating Monarch Butterflies and other insects. More good for the universe.
 |
Lance-Leaf Coreopsis
|
Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those
little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. (Desmond Tutu)
I end with the following poem. May you experience this blessing as summer unfolds while recognizing, celebrating, and sharing with others the good in your life.
Blessing (Carrie Newcomer)
May you wake with a sense of play,
An exultation of the possible.
May you rest without guilt,
Satisfied at the end of a day well done.
May all the rough edges be smoothed,
If to smooth is to heal,
And the edges be left rough,
When the unpolished is more true
And infinitely more interesting.
May you wear your years like a well-tailored coat
Or a brave sassy scarf.
May every year yet to come:
Be one more bright button
Sewn on a hat you wear at a tilt.
May the friendships you’ve sown
Grown tall as summer corn.
And the things you’ve left behind,
Rest quietly in the unchangeable past.
May you embrace this day,
Not just as any old day,
But as this day.
Your day.
Held in trust
By you,
In a singular place,
Called now.
