Ordinary Magic

Magical September days are unfolding. I've been home from Deer Park Retreat a week now and was corresponding with a dear friend who was a travel companion about our transition back. We both agreed that we continue to feel nurtured and held by community.

Thich Nhat Hanh, alongside Martin Luther King Jr., have made establishing beloved community their life's work. Both men have been instrumental in my practice of peace and the idea that every moment provides a practice opportunity. It doesn't matter if we're in retreat, at work, knee deep in the mundane or  steeped in the holy; in fact, there's no differentiation. This brings me to dish washing, yes, dish washing! It's something I do every day, but I notice myself sometimes rushing through it so I can move onto the next something.

Guess what work group I was placed in during the Deer Park retreat? Yep, dish washing. Everyday I worked within the collective mindfulness of my team and we assisted with washing dishes for over 200 people. Such occurrence, the opportunity to be so perfectly held in community, is what I now refer to as--The Miracle of Mindfulness.

Here's another example of the Miracle of Mindfulness and beloved community--as you may know, the September Inner Constellation monthly theme is "Magic." This morning, I reached for a book on my shelf that I had purchased after moving from my childhood home in PA. Back then, I was wet behind the ears, having arrived in Florida to begin college. I had stumbled into a tiny bookstore crammed with all variety of, well...variety. A book title jumped out--Ordinary Magic: Everyday Life as Spiritual Path. So I purchased it, and then it sat on my book shelf over the years, somehow avoiding my regular weeding out routine. I just kind of held onto it, never having read it until this month when I needed inspiration for our theme of "Magic." I turned to the first author in this anthology and I find Thich Nhat Hanh! His contribution is entitled, "Sunshine and Green Leaves," and do you know what he wrote about? Yep, dish washing! Another Miracle of Mindfulness wherein I am gently guided by community. So with gratitude, in this same spirit of community, I offer the following gatha (practice poem), inspired by dear Thich Nhat Hanh, Deer Park, my dish washing team, the Lotus Root :), and the aspiration of practicing peace in every moment:


9/26 InnerConstellation.com Blessing*: Washing Dishes

Hot water, fragrant soap, sponge,
movement of my hands
and strong legs to stand--
each are precious miracles.

©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

May each dish you wash today, nourish you completely as you love and care for yourself, your loved ones and your community.


*Inner Constellation Blessings are short, sweet little ditty's to inspire your practice. They are my gift to you, sent via email Mon-Fri. If you would like to receive, please contact me.