This Dharma Thought is by Steve Allison-Bunnell, the leader of the Joining Rivers Sangha which meets on Mondays at 7PM.
Sitting at the edge of Mystic Lake up the West Rosebud this weekend, watching drinkable water slowly dribble from our filter, I had two options: One was to feel impatient that I was having to work so hard for so little, and to berate myself for not cleaning the filter before leaving home. The other was to make this repetitive motion into a working mediation, something Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh) recommends over and over again. I chose the latter, matching my breath with each stroke of the pump, pausing for the chamber to fill before pushing it back out, feeling the steady rhythm of my arms moving. The view of the Absaroka-Beartooths surrounding me filled me with pure amazement. Seeing more deeply, I was aware of the uncountable snowflakes and raindrops from the peaks above that had filled this lake, allowing me to be refreshed. I noticed the morning light shift on the trees in front of me. And yes, my water bag did fill bit by bit. I was just there. When did you last give yourself to a task you could have otherwise been frustrated by? What did you experience instead of boredom?
