Sitting and Settling

At a month out from the solstice, we are starting to see some appreciable difference in the length of the days; not just in the later sunsets, which I get to appreciate on the days I come back from work at 5:00pm, but also now the slightly earlier mornings, the light starting to grow around 7:00am this week, with flashes of colour in the clouds.

The weather has continued to be changeable: it has at least warmed up some from the (relative) cold air that moved through for a while, though the rain has come in spells. Once again we had a wet Saturday followed by a clear and pleasant Sunday, good enough to be roaming in short sleeves through the afternoon. Certainly, compared to the rest of the US, and the UK from what I read, things are pretty mild here. Looking at the wider stories, I wonder how many weather headlines have to accumulate before people truly realise that this is climate change in action, day by day, week by week, month by month.

The first Dogen class went very well as far as I was concerned. More people showed up live than we had expected – these days some people just listen to the recordings afterwards – and people were full of questions and comments. I said most of what I had prepared, and feel well set up to continue tomorrow, when I hope it will be as lively. Other teachings sessions I have done this week – the Monday morning group, my Within class, my student’s company in South San Francisco, the online SFZC group – were more sparsely attended, but the regulars were there, which is always heartening. I never know what it is that I might do or say that will have an impact, so I will keep on doing it.