This week was really rough. I finished my work at CNM and am at home finishing up some projects before the next job starts. It was a rough transition as they always are. And as my friend Julie texted me, there's always a bit of grief leaving any group of people in an office.

As I'm working on this I was starting up NaPoWriMo 2019. The prompt for the day was to write a meandering poem which took its time to get anywhere. I couldn't help but think of the J. R. R. Tolkien poem with the quote, “Not all those who wander are lost.” I used to have this up on my office desk as it perfectly describes my meandering work life and all the many jobs I've had over the years. I wrote a poem of all the crazy temp job stories I could remember and this probably influenced my meditation and haiku this week.

The Prompt: Choice of Path

Again this week's prompt comes from the Zen by the Brush book by Myoshi Nancy O'Hara. 

"Along this way
goes no one.
Autumn evening."
            –
Basho

Again, first task is to sit for a meditation on that for 5-10 minutes or however long you feel is good to you.

The Drawing

20190404_150317 (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Haiku

…inspired by the drawing. 

Deep breath through the leaves
Bow to the new direction
At every turn

The Reflection

Like everyone, I'm not going the way of an autumn evening. I'm constantly on a path, obsessing about the path, looking backwards and wondering what happened.

And another tree appears this week. I think there's security in the idea of a tree (for me) and change makes me anxious so I want to focus on the stillness of a tree with change happening like wind in the leaves. But at the same time I seem to want to honor the changes.

 

Now you go.