A great gift of practice is the ability to cultivate presence, a space in which we can meet our experience with a real attention that brings deep connection and fulfillment. This Sunday, Andrea guided our reflections, drawing on Tara Brach’s exploration on this topic.
Tara’s talk is available here: https://www.tarabrach.com/gift-to-the-soul-the-space-of-presence-4/
During the talk, Tara read a poem by Judy Brown, entitled “Fire”. It begins,
What makes a fire burn
is space between the logs,
a breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packed in too tight
can douse the flames
almost as surely
as a pail of water would.
So building fires
requires attention
to the spaces in between,
as much as to the wood.
Judy Brown, from The Sea Accepts All Rivers
You can read the full poem on Judy’s website here: https://www.judysorumbrown.com/blog/breathing-space
Burlington Buddhist Sangha 