This past week, I moved into a new home. One thing I wish you could do is stay in the home one night (as an airbnb situation) before committing. It’s at this point, you can discover all the problems or quirks that arise in the middle of the night. You can decide if these will be things you can commit to. But perhaps this is exactly why we don’t stay overnight in these homes. We may not make the same choice.
And hence there is the case that I write about the church bells. They don’t only ring to note high noon and evening, nor every hour. They seem to ring every 15 minutes. Luckily, I can return to sleep with ease. But part of me questions the move that was just made. What have I done? Would I have knowingly chosen to move somewhere where I can be disturbed by sounds of the church so frequently?
Before and after my meditation this morning , the church bells rang. I noticed my Tibetan singing bowl sitting in front of me. Could I begin to reframe these numerous loud reverberations outside to something else?
Perhaps these bells could be my call to prayer? Or they could serve to remind myself to return to the present moment. Our thoughts drift towards numerous directions, as we have up to 70,000 thoughts per day. Could this help with breaking the pattern of my wandering mind and come back to now. If I choose to make this shift, the bells will not longer be an annoyance but a gentle reminder to nudge my thoughts on a different trajectory.
What brought about this shift is particular book I am reading about some of the Buddhist Lojung principles. These are guiding forces in our lives. One lojung I landed on yesterday was to allow the problem or crisis to become the path/way. How can we let our issues become our teachers? The bells are not problematic, but therefore enriching to my life.
It Only Takes A Smile 