Each thought or feeling is a temporary contraction in the fabric of your awareness, which soon straightens itself out - all by itself. Each thought or feeling is like a shadow in the flicker of a flame, yet the flame keeps burning brightly; like a gust of wind rustling the treetops, yet not a leaf is displaced; like the morning dew evaporating before the sunshine, yet not a drop is left remaining; like a streak of cloud in the endless sky, yet it too is blown away; like the bubbling foam lining the top of a wave, yet it soon crashes returning to stillness; like the sound of a water-drop in an underground cave, yet the great silence remains untouched. It is no more than that.
Each thought or feeling is a passing experience brushing up against the screen of your awareness: your awareness is the spacious cave that can welcome even the most violent cacophony; it is the deep ocean which can bear even the most towering waves; it is the boundless sky which can contain even the most stormy grey clouds; it is the green earth which will not be soaked even by the heaviest dew and mist; it is the canopy which can embrace even the most chaotic wind; it is the flame which can light up even the darkest shadows.
Each thought or feeling is a passing traveler looking for temporary lodging. Reject them, and they will hang around like spooky figures - peer through the windows, knock on the front and back doors, and make you feel stuck on a shrinking island, surrounded by their advances. You will hear them howling in the wind and beating on the roof in the rain. If instead you welcome them, they may break a few cups and plates, empty the larder a little bit, but soon after be gone. They will stay for a night, at most two. But they will leave no lasting mark. In fact, they will leave more than due payment for all costs.
All you must do is welcome all with the spirit of gentle awareness - and in this space of welcoming and accepting all experience will be rendered transparent and transient. And the heart of it all will be revealed and comforted.
6th May, 2025