The following reflection originally appeared in the newsletter I sent out on April 5th, 2021.

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This past week, I made a quick dash up the basement stairs, slipped, fell, and fractured a bone in my foot.  I now have a large boot, crutches and can put exactly zero weight on it.  While it would be easy to congeal around the inconvenience or pain, dharma practice has offered me an alternative.

The Buddha spoke of “Five Daily Recollections” —  a short list of things to think and ponder upon every day.  I find it fascinating that four of them have to do with impermanence:

1. I am subject to aging; I can not escape aging.
2. I am subject to ill health; I can not escape ill health
3. I am subject to death; I can not escape death.
4. All that I hold dear will eventually be separate from me.

While I don’t actually reflect on these every day, I hold them on “the tip of my mind,” and when some life situation or circumstance rolls along that fits the bill, my mind steers into the corresponding reflection.

And so I reflect that I too am subject to ill health; I can not escape ill health.

These reflections are not a source of sadness or depression, but rather invite me into a deeper wisdom, into a reminder that anything I hold onto is a source of suffering.  They have a sobering effect on my mind and bring me face-to-face with reality.  They remind me that If I resist my injury and grasp after some other experience, like being able-bodied, then I suffer.  They remind me that my happiness isn’t dependent on things going well, but rather on my ability to relate to this moment with great care and wisdom.

While sadnesses or frustrations have popped into my heart-mind for little bits, I’ve mostly let them float right through.  And, in the space that that creates, I’ve noticed big doses of humility, gratitude, and compassion:

1. The humility to recognize my limitations, to ask for help, and to be gentle with myself.
2. Grateful for everything from my ability to solidly balance on one foot to my supportive housemates to it being just a foot injury rather than, say, throwing out my back.
3. Compassion for the challenges this presents me, but perhaps even more so, a heightened compassion for all those facing injuries and physical limitations, especially as a condition of life.

Anyhow, I mostly wish to say I find these recollections are helping me keep my spirits strong — and, if even one other person can do it with their challenge, so can you with whatever difficulty you’re going through!

One more time but with the fifth recollection on karma added in:

1. I am subject to aging; I can not escape aging.
2. I am subject to ill health; I can not escape ill health.
3. I am subject to death; I can not escape death.
4. All that I hold dear will eventually be separate from me.
5. My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.   [Thich Nhat Hanh rendition]

 

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