Since practicing social distancing, I’ve been thinking more about my solitary retreat at Amida Mandala. My first post was about part of that experience, where, during a 48 hour period, I stayed in one room (with occasional outings to the back garden) and chanted the nembutsu.
I had very little contact with anyone except Rev. Satyavani and Rev. Kaspalita during the retreat. It was lonely and quite frustrating at times but it was also punctuated by moments of joy. Most of those moments came in the form of food.
Satya and Kaspa delivered meals to me three times a day. When they knocked on my door, I felt a great relief. In the brief time that they whispered a greeting and passed along my tray of food, I was elated.
As hard as I try, I can’t remember most of those meals. However, I do remember the cherry tomatoes.
I’m not really a fan tomatoes. I can live without them. However, those cherry tomatoes were an exception. As far as I was concerned, they were a blessing.
As I ate them, I found myself savoring them. Generally, I eat pretty mindlessly, but this was different. For those moments, as I sat alone, nothing could compare to the taste of those cherry tomatoes. As I ate them slowly, one by one, I felt a a rare sense of genuine gratitude.
Slowing down can be a challenge. For me, it can be quite frustrating. However, in the midst of it all, the Light trickles through the clouds illuminating little miracles here and there. For that, I give thanks.
Namo Amida Bu
Image from Pixabay
