Happy New Life

Here is a quote sent to me from my dear student and friend, Diane Fitzgerald, which she received a couple of years ago  from my dear husband and fellow teacher David Rynick.  it's from Ox and Window by the 17th century Zen master Hakuin Ekaku:

Bodnant Garden, North Wales

This year, I am determined to be more unproductive.  My goal is to do less and less – to move slower and slower until everything stops.  I and the whole world will come to a sweet and silent stillness.  And in this stillness, a great shout of joy will arise.  We will all be free – free from the advice of ancient ages, free from the whining voices, free from the incessant objections of the responsible ones.

In this new world, it will be abundantly clear that the bare branches of the winter trees are our teachers.  In their daily dance of moving here and there, we will see once again the true meaning of our life.  In the wind song of their being, we will hear God’s unmistakable voice.  We will follow what appears before us – what had once been difficult will now unfold with ease.