Finding Shoshin Again
12 Tuesday Mar 2013
Written by Nicole Rushin in Dream Speak, Personal Growth, Poetry, Prose, The Creative Process
And the Sound of Duck Fluff Landing on Water…
~~~
The ducks appear to move effortlessly across the water,
but I know their feet are paddling ferociously beneath the lake.
It’s the face we show the world.
The stories we choose to tell.
The topside of the mirror.
The warm side of the lake.
They leave ribbons in their wake.
A ‘V’ – A cape
A spade -
To cut through the moment.
In Shoshin everything kept beneath the water surfaces.
Everything on the inside wants to be on the outside.
If you’ve spent your whole life hiding your ferociously paddling feet,
it may feel like a death of the whole self,
but it’s simply the story of the ego that wants to die.
You are left with white
and the sound of duck fluff
landing on water.
That’s the sound of no effort.
The sound of no struggling.
Shoshin is the place
between the soft belly of feathers
and the lapping lake.
The secret to Shoshin, beginner’s mind, emptying to begin again,
is found in the sound of duck fluff landing on a still winter lake.
Emptying to begin again and again…
Back to Shoshin again and again…
I wonder if you can squeeze yourself inside the generous silence of this?
Nicole~
‘Finding Shoshin Again’ is an excerpt from the Dream-Speak Journal ~ Shoshin.
11 comments
March 13, 2013 at 5:11 AM
Excellent … !!!
March 13, 2013 at 7:02 PM
Thanks Gabri!
March 13, 2013 at 8:15 AM
Beautifully said and poetically written Nikki…
The sound of ducks landing swiftly upon the water – we don’t see their webbed feet paddling but we do see them gliding gracefully upon the water and they make me smile!!!
Peace and love,
Nancy
March 13, 2013 at 7:05 PM
Ha! I just noticed you used Nikki. Too funny. I’ve definitely reserved ‘The Nikki’ for my DS posts – maybe I should use it here too. Funny that I grew up Nikki and did not know it meant diary. The duck’s struggling feet make me think of all the things I can let go of. What struggles? What am I trying to do that I can let go of?
N~
March 13, 2013 at 11:20 PM
I love watching ducks and geese. I get to see them almost every week. Beautiful poem.
March 25, 2013 at 5:57 PM
Whoa! Hi Galen. I’m a little behind on responding to my blog comments, yikes! Where do you get to view the ducks? They are most majestically peaceful creatures. But when they come out of the water they look so funny and off balance.
N~
March 16, 2013 at 5:43 AM
Grace upon water, yet each ripple always reminds me of the stages of our life. With the first and strongest ripple birth, fading into the last the final stage death as it slowly vanishes. It’s amazing with poetry how each of us finds a different meaning as we read each line. Yours makes me think of life and if I have made each ripple count. Hope that makes sense. Love the poem. Paulette
March 25, 2013 at 6:00 PM
Hi Paulette, sorry for taking such a long time to respond here. I love this visual of the rings representing life. Exactly like a tree. And how do we do that? Make each ring count? I think it comes from not regretting the ripples of the past and not trying to create the ones that haven’t happened yet. Too much spinning around and not enough living in the now.
N~
April 10, 2013 at 3:15 PM
Excellent!
April 11, 2013 at 1:44 PM
This is just lovely. The sound of duck fluff landing on water… I love that! Despite the apparent calm, there is usually more to the story, isn’t there?
Thank you for visiting my blog, and for taking part in my little giveaway. It’s so nice to meet you!
April 11, 2013 at 4:54 PM
Hi Jaime,
I see you left two comments, but I’ll reply to both here – (too many emails). I need to go back to your site and see what giveaway I’m in. I totally missed that. I was caught up in your photography I’m sure. (Gees! How did I miss that?) I read your blog on my feed reader and I really admire your photography. And yes, the ducks! They make it look so easy. I’m striving for more duck in my life. (As opposed to more cow-bell)
The duality of the ladybug? Have you read ‘Women Who Run With the Wolves’? The story of Manawee is about the duality of the feminine. It reminded me of the Ladybug and how she hides her inner-wings. I’m sure she just doesn’t know how beautiful her inner-wings are.
Nicole~