March 03, 2024 – A

Finding what we need
to do what needs to be done
is always a matter 
of being quiet 
and waiting out the emotion of the moment
for clarity and peace.

We tend to default to the left hemisphere
with its rational structuring of life
to think our way through
whatever is threatening our balance and harmony,
but routine can be waylaid 
by the outlandish and unforeseen. 

Then the right hemisphere earns its keep
with its propensity for novel approaches
to practical matters.

Nighttime dreams and daytime reveries 
can right the boat
with reassuring reminders and suggestions
for responding to the situation at hand
that is completely out of hand.

It takes being quiet 
for clarity to find its way to us,
and quiet is the hardest thing to be
when its presence is most necessary.

So the old Taoists, Zen Masters
and Buddhist Monks relied on 
chanting and ceremony
to "calm troubled water"
and return to the perspective of peace.

YouTube is a great source 
for a variety of chants
to restore our connection to soul
(AKA The Right Hemisphere!)
if we have the wisdom to trust ourselves
to it with confidence and conviction.

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