This Day

This morning I went for a run and at 9 am I stood on an open field under a cerulean blue sky, much like the blue sky of 11 years ago. This time I was surrounded by trees and quiet. I stood there and gave of myself to gratitude – gratitude for being alive, for all that has been given, gratitude for this life, my life, a life - with sadness and happiness, boring and indifferent, glorious and hard - for all of it I give thanks,

Often I feel that I have known great troubles but in truth I have also had an amazing life full of abundance, joy and delightful surprise. And so today I am reminded of that, of having this field and this day, this life.

I am spending the day doing community outreach on suicide prevention. Every day a veteran takes their life, in my community – a place filled with wealth, beauty, opulence, and safety there is a suicide every three days (and increasing), among people with brain injury and victims of trauma suicide is double the population and in the city of Philadelphia children have twice the suicide rate of the nation. Suicide is highly stigmatized and difficult to deal so I hope that we can make a difference.

As to leaders…my thoughts return to the sea...

Leaders of states are like being at the helm of a tanker, they have a broad and slow turning radius, they are steered based on technology and data but somewhat blindly, dangerous because of their size and bulk. and though their size does not give them right of way they often take it. Yet despite all their power tney can still run aground.

Leaders of corporations are like America’s cup boats, driven to the next finish line, requiring a crew that sometimes is underwater, the captain has a few trusted advisors (if they are smart) but they rely on instinct and guts as much as standard procedure. They are always in competition, and everything can change in a moment.

Small businesses are like private yachts, the owners invest a lot and take pride but they can be costly to maintain. A good captain has patience and knows never to get to arrogant at the helm. And, while their boats represent their independence the captain often discovers how valuable it is to have a community to whether a storm.

But for most of us our lives are like the small Ideal-18’s – single handed, no engine just a tiller, we can move about quickly and do what many larger boats cannot, we have the joy of our choices and the thrill of our experiences, and together, a flotilla of such boats can change a great deal.

There is much to be learned from the water. The ocean is unpredictable and often dangerous but it is also beautiful and amazing. To harness the wind is to know cooperation and respect, the wind does not bow before man (or even women!) but it will share its power and majesty and take us the places we want to go (and sometimes to place we do not). To lie at night and see nothing but stars, to feel the surge of the sea beneath your keel, to see the world in its raw untamed state is to be both humbled and joyous and to recognize both our insignificance and our majesty.

And so it is on this day, on this day I share with all my mantra –

Memento vivere.

Remember to live.

metta.