Jack Kornfield: The Sacred Pause | Monday Night talk

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) How do we tend ourselves, how do we tend this world? Can we pause, be present, take a step back and be the loving awareness that witnesses it all? We are consciousness itself having a human experience. This is an invitation to pause, to walk among the trees, to take time, to remember the sense of mystery. With mindfulness you may discover a peace that allows you to be present, compassionate and open. Mary Oliver writes: When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.” The light flows from their branches. And they call again, “It's simple,” they say, “and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.”