Accepting the reward

According to the Tao – “When the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness arises.  When it knows good as good, evil arises.”  To focus only upon beauty, you will see the imperfections.  To focus only upon good, you will see the failings.  I can look with eyes that knew the trees before the fire.  To do so, somehow the scars seem darker.  Or I can look with eyes that see beauty as is.

I accept my leg that drags and catches upon roots and stones and knees that shift and give pause as to whether I will make it back.  I accept eyes that make it almost impossible to see, and even the camera lens is becoming blurry.  I accept the weakness and tremor in my hand that no longer wraps around the warmth of the coffee cup nor writes.  I accept the solitude and silence, the discoveries unshared.  I accept the seasons swiftly moving and the weariness of nonresistance.  Think not my acceptance of reality’s cold steel grip is passive.  To get to the house, after my long walk, pained and weakened, acceptance means the steep hill that bends my body and breath is my reward.