The pond and the river
A pond is still because nothing disturbs it. A river is still at its center because everything does.
For years I chased the pond. I thought growth meant fewer commitments, a quieter calendar, a smaller life. But the quiet never came — I only kept moving the walls in.
Zen doesn't ask us to stop the river. It asks us to notice the still point that already exists inside the current.
Three small practices
- One breath before speaking. Not a technique. Just a breath.
- Watch the transitions. The moment between one task and the next is where most of life actually lives.
- Do one thing badly. Perfection is another form of noise.
The obstacle is the path. — Zen proverb
Growth is not the removal of difficulty. It is the slow discovery that difficulty and ease are the same shape, seen from different sides.