Falling Leaves

Lockdown was a kind of a retreat, time to slow down, turn inwards; pause, reflect and be more present.

It reminded me of the time I spent in Thai forest monasteries practising mindfulness and meditation.
Every day, the grounds must be swept of leaves that fall in every season in Asian forests.
In the afternoons, I would watch the monks sweeping mindfully with long-handled bamboo brooms. And all the while, the leaves continued to fall. As they came to the end of the long path, the new scattering of leaves had already covered the ground behind them. Still, they would show up, day after day, patiently and peacefully sweeping the path.

It's kind of like life. Just like the leaves endlessly fall, so life never stops delivering the endless stream of events. We often complain, or get bored and wish things were different.
It’s as if we are arguing with the forest, not wanting the leaves to fall.
Yet, when we attend calmly to what’s in front of us, when we drop our expectations and judgements, when we cease our worries and frustrations, when we stop complaining and start responding, we become like the sweeping monks. We find peace with the way things are.

Ajahn Cha, the great master of the Thai Forest tradition once said :
“Our lives are like the breath, like the growing and falling of leaves. When we really understand about falling leaves, we can sweep the paths every day and have great happiness in our lives on this changing earth.”