And so a child is born ...

shhh .. baby sleeping .. shhh

Today I spent the day with a beautiful precious five week old baby .. so small so new. It has been a while since I have held such a small and perfect gift. And there is a smell that babies have, that is so intoxicating (is that what makes us want to just hold on a little longer?). How amazing I thought many times .. to find myself just hanging out with this little angel .. nothing to do and nowhere to go .. and absolutely no desire to attend to anything other than watching and holding and listening to this new baby boy.

I found the whole day inspiring and refreshing .. and tonight I realise that there are messages in the day that I want to share.

* Permission : here I was on a 'work day' having offered to keep a watchful eye on baby .. and once I arrived I honestly never gave another thought to all the issues, should's, have to's or should do's that had been literally flooding my life in recent months. In extending an offer to help out I had received the magical Permision Slip to take the full day off and just 'hang' with baby .. I sat, walked a little, rocked and hummed and witnessed the most amazing unfolding of time with such ease (why do we find it so hard in meditation?). I had absolutely no difficulty in being in the present moment, and no difficulty quietening my inner chatter and noise. I was mesmerised by this new being and my day was filled with wonder. Beginners Mind.

* Watching the Breath : Just watching his breath I was besotted .. a baby breathes so beautifully, their whole body luxuriates in an expanding and resting tummy .. a beautiful ebb and flow .. I watched .. I watched for ages .. and in the rhythm of his breath I found myself absorbed in this visual mantra of inhalation and exhalation. There is really nothing else so precious as the breath .. it connecting us with all others .. moving through us all .. a familiar tune.

* Walking in the summer sun : walking slowly, careful of bumps and uneven surfaces, watchful of flies, appreciative of the soft summer breeze that kept the skin cool and refreshed. Just walking with no destination just the steady rhythm of the pram .. reminded me of a buddhist saying ..“slowly slowly step by step .. each step a meditation”

* The beauty of love : a child speaks to our hearts .. just holding a child so young and dependant opens our heart. This is the heart that we close to adults or 'others' .. this is the heart that melts and hurts because we don't often allow ourselves to be in its presence so unattached. This week in class we did a Loving Kindness Meditation .. 'May you be happy .. May you be peaceful, at ease .. May you accept yourself just as you are .. May you be free to live and love fully'.

* Putting anothers interests first : we live in an age of 'me' .. most of us spend inordinate amounts of time and energy on fulfilling just our own desires and wants. But a child .. a child leads you to readily discard your own simplistic needs and desires .. and in doing so a much greater gift is found. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama said this week in Melbourne .. peace is found in part through a life given to the well being of others. This is a lesson learnt easily in the caring and loving of a child.

A truly wonderful day .. just attending to my immediate experiences, just being in the moment, aware and mindful. Yes a day of Mindfulness Practice.

Thank you Alex ...