Today in class we went on a walk with earplugs in. This heightened my sense of sight; I walked slowly and absorbed all of my surroundings with eagerness. My partner and I pointed out objects of visual pleasure to us, such as trees and houses. We reached a small park and sat and lay in the grass while wearing a blindfold. The serenity was astounding. With no sense of sight or sound, I relied completely on my sense of touch. I even dozed off a bit.
When I returned to the conscious reality of day to day school life, I was immediately confronted with a panicked situation. Apparently, I had left my car keys in my car this morning, as one friend told me during Generals' Period. I started to, for lack of a better word, "freak out" and run around the school in a frenzy. They weren't in my car and my friend hadn't picked them up. My mind started racing with all the awful scenarios: Would someone steal the car--my parents' car?! Would I be stuck at school forever? What will my mom think? Would she trust me with such a responsibility again? I sprinted down to the office's Lost and Found...and there they were. Wonderful and silver. It was such a contrast to the beautiful peace of third period.
The unfortunate reality of life is reality. No matter how hard you try to create a peaceful, meditative space; life always comes back to panic you out of it.
Does it have to be so? Does life have to induce a panic? Remember the discussion the first day of class about overcoming the reactive impulse? Ask yourself if this is possible with every disconcerting situation.
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by the title of this post. Can not Serenity be reality too?
mr. s