The Gem Among the Firewood
Read slowly, aloud; about twelve minutes.
Before you begin. This is a gentle practice in light trance, suitable for most people. If you are prone to feeling detached from yourself, keep your eyes half open throughout. Sit in a safe place; never practise while driving.
How to return at any moment. Press your feet down, say "I am here," count from one to five and open your eyes.
Sit, and let the breath settle. Let the eyes close.
Think of the work that fills your days. The bundle you carry, again and again, to the market. Feel its weight for a moment. You know this load.
Now walk, in imagination, to the edge of the forest where you gather it. The usual path. The usual trees. Notice what you usually look for here: the right size of branch, the quickest way back.
Breathe out.
Now let your eyes soften. Let them go a little wider than the task. At the edge of the path, something catches the light. Sandalwood, perhaps, fragrant. A flowering branch. Fruit you never noticed. And there, in plain sight at the foot of a tree, a gem, lit from inside.
Kneel. Pick it up. Feel its weight in your palm, small and clear. You did not come here for this. You came for firewood. That is how it is found.
Notice what it is like to be content here, in these same woods, with this same work. Nothing outside has changed.
Now let something you have learned, a teaching, a kind word, a hard lesson, run over the mind like clear water over a mirror. Watch the dust lift. Watch the image clear.
Rest here, awake and steady. Whatever comes, let it come and pass. Equal to it.
(Silence: one minute.)
One. Feel the gem still in your hand.
Two. Feel your feet on the floor.
Three. Hear the room.
Four. Take a full breath and stretch.
Five. Open your eyes, fully alert.
Say your name, the day and where you are. Name one ordinary task you will do today, and decide to do it with the gem in your pocket.