Last week, I talked about the experience of shopping with your loved one and helping them to find the clothes that express their “beauty within.” This morning, come journey before the break of dawn through the flowering tress at Highland Park in search of the “beauty within.”The Buddha is said to have given a ‘silent sermon’ once during which he held up a flower and gazed at it. After a while, one of those present, a monk called Mahakasyapa, began to smile. He is said to have been the only one who had understood the sermon. According to legend, that smile (that is to say, realization) was handed down by twenty-eight successive masters and much later become the origin of Zen.”~ Eckhart Tolle
Seeing beauty in a flower could awaken humans, however briefly, to the beauty that is an essential part of our own innermost being, our true nature. The first recognition of beauty was one of the most significant events in the evolution of human consciousness. The feelings of joy and love are intrinsically connected to that recognition. Without fully realizing it, flowers become for us an expression in form of that which is most high, most sacred, and ultimately formless in ourselves. Flowers, more fleeting, more ethereal, and more delicate than the plants out of which they emerged, become messengers from another realm, like a bridge the world of physical form and the formless. They not only have a scent that is delicate and pleasing to humans, but also brought a fragrance from the realm of the spirit.
Many times, Jesus took time to go off by himself to pray, to meditate, to allow the “beauty within” to grow inside so that he could continue to carry out his mission to bring compassion to the people.
Zazen is the practice of sitting meditation. It cultivates awareness, concentration, self-knowledge, compassion, and peace. It allows the mind to calm and worries to dissipate, giving rise to compassion and allowing us to be present for our fellow human beings. As you gaze upon the flowers and trees each morning, allow these messengers to help you let go of the tension and feel the healing and comfort of God’s love “within you.”
God prays for us as we reflect: “Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” (Song of Solomon 2:12).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they smile as they gaze upon the beauty of each flower that holds the essence of our true self. May we find happiness in the awareness that in each moment we are loved by our Heavenly Father.
