Sun, clouds and fresh snow on the Monadliath
Today: a celebration of the elements. We had an inch and a half of fresh fluffy snow when I awoke this morning, the first we have had here in the Highlands since December. It has been an unusally snow-free winter for us, at least judging by the standards of recent winters. I walked up through the forest to the high moor above, in soft heathery snow, but it was good to enjoy the sunshine (and the bitter wind!) .
” … using the power of the natural world to support a deeper and more authentic connection with our essence. When we stand on top of a mountain, we get an unquestionable experience of vast and open space. It is important to realise that that feeling, that experience, is in us and not only in the impressive vista. Many of us go to the ocean for rest and enjoyment, but the natural power of the ocean can support us to develop openness. We can go into nature to connect with certain qualities and internalise those qualities, in the sense of taking what we feel in the physical connection and bringing that deeper inside where our experience becomes one of energy and mind.
Many times we look at a flower and think ‘So beautiful! So beautiful!’ At that moment it is good to realise that beautiful quality internally. Feel it with the support of looking at the flower. Don’t merely look at the flower or any external object and conclude that the beauty rests there in that object. Bring that quality and feeling to a deeper recognition.”
– Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, ‘Healing with Form, Energy and Light’