More to Find Than Can Ever Be Found

as i meditated a few days ago, my attention was on my breath.  i sensed the circular nature of it, how it seemed to have no beginning or end.  there was a constant movement of air in and out.  there did not seem to be a point at which the in-breath stopped and the out-breath began or where the out-breath became the in-breath.  the same was true of the rise and fall of my stomach and chest.  all was one fluid motion.

later in the day i though of the cyclical nature of all things.  our lives arise and fall, giving rise to new life.  we become part of the continuous cycle of life that is our planet and everything on it.  this is true of all life and of the great organism that is our earth.  it is not just some amalgamation of rocks spinning through space.  it has tides that rise and fall, tectonic plates that are in constant motion, winds and water that grind the rock into soil that nurtures life as plants and animals are born and die, decaying into matter that enriches the soil so that new life can arise.

i thought, too, of the prevalence of circular forms in nature:  the stem of a plant, the blossom of a flower, the trunk of a tree and its branches, our arms and legs, our eyes, the gentle curve of the parts of our ears, the roundness of the tops of our heads, the bend of the river, the crater of the volcano, our planet itself.  all around us are circles and curves.  yet we humans seem to have a penchant for right angles, for square and rectangles.  we live in houses based on those shapes, we frame our pictures in them.  we love square corners and parallel lines, and i wonder why that is, since these things exist so seldom in nature.  perhaps it is because it is simpler to construct things that are based on ninety degree angles; perfect circles are much more difficult to create with our limited abilities, though nature seems to prefer circular constructions.

perhaps it all comes back to the breath, this continuum that is life itself for all animals, including human beings.  when we gasp our last breath, our lives in their present form are over and we become part of the greater continuum that is the earth and the universe.  at that point the circle is complete.  we have returned to the place of our origin, and new life begins.  breath in-breath out, the great mystery continues.

may we relish each breath we are given, rejoicing in the opportunity to experience life.  may we seek to understand our place in the great scheme of things and to appreciate each part of nature and its role in the great dance.  may we know that we are part of something eternal, that our last breath is a new beginning.  shalom.