This isn’t the most powerful question in the world –
Is today a good day to die?
This is –
Is today a good day for Suzanne to die?
Holy Poop! If I have any doubt about the nature of life
and death, this question will flush it out. If I have any
doubt who my wife, Suzanne, truly is, this question will
slap me awake.
A Refresher –
My friend and colleague, Kim Ivy challenged me and her
students with maintaining a practice for 100 days. It’s a
traditional Taoist idea.
I took it on.
My Practice
My practice was to show up every morning at the beach on
Lake Washington or on the Salish Sea, practice Taiji (Tai
Chi) or something similar in order to be present enough to
be able to say wholeheartedly, “Today is a good day to
die!”
In order to be able to say that wholeheartedly, you have to
be present. No mind chatter. The grasping, clinging ego
never thinks it’s a good day to die. When you’re present,
the ego is gone. You are free to say, “Today is a good day
to die!”
My beloved Zen teacher, Genjo, said, “That’s all well and
good William, but how about a good day for Suzanne to die?
“#@$%** you and the horse you came in on,” I said.
Genjo just laughed, of course.
I found this second question – Is today a good day for
Suzanne to die? – most revealing. If you ask my ego, there
is never a good day for Suzanne to die.
You may have guessed that someday it will be the day that
Suzanne dies. I may be lucky enough to be there. We have
been married for nearly four decades. We’re likely to be
married until death do us part. So this practice has a
point to it, doesn’t it.
In order to say – Today is a good day for Suzanne to die —
wholeheartedly, I have to be deeply present. I have to
know who she is at the deepest levels.
I showed up every day for the 100 days just like the US
mail – through rain, wind, cold. Some days were a tad
sloppy, others fully transcendent as you might expect.
One day slipped my mind completely due to a change in
routine.
The Surprises I Discovered
At some point, moving through my morning forms, I would
open to the vast magic of life unfolding in the present
moment, and I would find Suzanne right there, in the
infinite moment.
One day she was in the curvature of the earth. Another in
the Lombardy poplar, another in the cherry blossoms. Each
day she appeared. Each day she appeared in a different
guise. Obviously on each day, I could say, “Today is a
good day for Suzanne to die.”
Blessings,
William
P.S. You can Learn ‘Secrets’ that Most People Will Never
Know About How to Really Benefit from the Vibrantly Potent,
Martial Art Form of Standing Meditation…
Give us 35 minutes listening to this playfully powerful
conversation, and we, William Wittmann and Kim Ivy
(www.EmbraceTheMoon.com) will reveal the power and magic of
standing meditation.
“This is fun. This is easy. This is hot.”
Go for it =>
