Home again

{25 July}

Simplifying our lives does not mean sinking into idleness, but on the contrary, getting rid of the subtle aspect of laziness: the one which makes us take on thousands of less important activities.

Matthieu Ricard

We are home. It has been a week of getting re-acquainted with forgotten toys, sleeping at unusual times of the day and night, washing an immense amount of laundry and embracing the tasks of everyday living. The suitcases are unpacked, the photos are almost all downloaded and the refrigerator is full.

Yes, indeed we are home.

And today as my two men napped, instead of napping myself, I cultivated a little altar for this very precious book, that has been without a "home" since we moved. It is called Offerings: Buddhist wisdom for every day. Full of 365 days of reminders for mindfulness and stunningly alive photographs, it is our way of starting the day with right thought, right speech and right livelihood. And when throughout the day, we veer away from these, it lays there, like a reminder to pause, breathe and pay attention. And I have missed it.

Now it has a place of its own. And of course, as I opened it to today's date and read today's quote, I was again reminded that when we are ready to hear, the words arrive. For this is exactly what I needed to read, at exactly the right moment.