WRITER’S BLOCK

By Laura Crosby
 
Here I sit before a blank page, awaiting inspiration, the cursor blinking expectantly. Instead of wishing the words to come, I find myself admiring the white space. The emptiness seems complete, needing nothing from me.
 
What is there to add that would improve this clean slate? It is its own poetry. In this openness there is a peace that stands in stark contrast to the noise and agitation that may come next. What words would comfort or serve any of us as much as simple peace and quiet?
For me, loving-kindness and compassion are usually the best first answer when I wonder what’s called for in any given moment. So I will share a loving-kindness (metta) sutta that I am practicing with, an adaptation of common translations. Please take what serves you and let the rest go.
 
Practicing so that I may be skilled in goodness and know the path of peace
I nurture this heart, mind, and body
to be sincerely
Straightforward and gentle in speech,
Humble and modest,
Content and unbusy,
Satisfied with simplicity and unencumbered by preferences.
 
Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful.
Let me not do the slightest thing
that causes harm or wise reproach;
Wishing all beings be safe and well,
happy and free.
 
May love and compassion for all living-kind, excluding none,
arise from the depths of my heart.
Whether frail or strong,
Seen and unseen,
Living near and far,
Born and to-be-born --
May all be at ease.
 
Let none deceive or despise another.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Just as a mother would protect her
child with her own life,
may I, in that same spirit, cultivate boundless thoughts
of loving kindness toward all beings.
 
May kindness radiate over the entire world:
Outwards and unbounded,
Free from hatred and ill-will.
In all states of heart-mind-body,
May I be mindful,
And rest in a sublime abiding of loving kindness.
By not holding to fixed views,
Seeing clearly, and
Abandoning attachment,
May I and all beings be free from suffering.

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