retreat
By Katharine Kaufman // Of all ridiculous things the most ridiculous seems to me, to be busy—to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work. ~ Kierkegaard Snow falls in the early morning at Hokoji. First bells ring at 5:25. Warm inside. Quiet is palpable. Dim light in Zendo, and snow outside softens, cushions. I think I hear one snowflake drop. Even our breaths are quiet, bears in their cove. Then I hear scraping. Really loud! What is that!? I imagine a giant creature. Oh, shoveling. Arthur decides to skip the morning sit and shovel in the dark. REALLY? Can’t we just sit here together? But now Arthur is gone and the memory is dear. …Now I say, dear Arthur. What would it take to let the snow drop all around with no response but to breathe in and breathe out. ~ Ned Hallowell, psychiatrist and author of Driven to Distraction says, “We reach for our devices as if we were grabbing from the bowl of m & m’s on the …