Not all meditation cushions are the same. Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in NM has become my meditation cushion. Can I simply enjoy the hawk’s flight over the mesa and not reach for my camera or fear what I may be missing? Can I be attentive enough to notice the soft eyes of life gazing upon me? Can I be attentive and aware to know the gentle gaze even when my eyes do not see theirs? Can my tears water the hardened path when my pocket and eyes never hold a feather but know that one has been gifted? Can I sit upon the earth immersed in the absolute silence, absent the hum of lights, traffic, and a furnace and hear nature singing? In a world where reading, writing, even driving are such a challenge and stir my mind, in stillness can I see with clarity the dance around me?

Like meditation cushions, the two images are not the same. The first, the soft gaze hidden in the grasses and trees. The second an explosion of wonder and awe as the Bald Eagle was something I never expected to see. And that, is the whisper of Maxwell’s meditation cushion. To breathe a soft breath of “yes” to each reflection above, it is where the grace of Sight is bestowed. May all beings find their cushion of Sight and sit.