By Desiree Baolian Qin
Stopping
8:30am, March 23, 2020
This morning I woke up to a thin layer of snow
covering all the still gray bare branches,
the lawn that’s slowly turning greener every day.
The whole world has turned
black and white, like a Chinese
landscape painting.
The whole world has stopped —
no planes overhead,
no cars zooming by,
no trains rushing through
sounding their horns
carrying millions to work,
to trips, to different destinations,
children with packed schedules
to all their classes.
The whole world has stopped.
There’s only a small squirrel
curled up on a tree branch
pondering about breakfast, maybe,
a family of ducks slowly
cruising down the lake, each
leaving behind a V-shaped
ripple pattern,
two blue jays flying by
and resting briefly
Children are still sleeping.
The only sound is the
occasional call of a bird.
The whole world has stopped.
We have finally stopped.
Do you know the word “busy” in
Chinese means “loss of the heart”?
In stopping, maybe we can
find our heart again.
Just Be
There is a longing in me
to grab a chair and sit
under a flowering white cherry tree
in the spring,
for a whole afternoon,
enveloped by its canopy of tenderness.
There is a longing in me
to recline under a tall
bush of blooming pink peonies
in early summer,
for a whole day
studying the tight, heavenly layers of
their fragrant petals.
There is a longing in me
to lie under a patch of
red and golden maple foliage
in late fall
for hours,
studying the leaves dancing
through the sun light
abandoning their glorious cathedral ceiling.
There is a longing in me
to gaze at the quiet, peaceful world,
covered by a thick,
plush white blanket
after winter’s first snow
for a whole morning,
to see how it slowly wakes up…
In the tranquil Savasana moment
after yoga this morning,
I realize that the longing
is simply to
Just Be —
Whatever season,
wherever you are,
with whomever,
feeling whatever,
Just be.
Do not think of departing.
Just be.
Featured Image by PNGTree