Being at Ease

One of the seven factors of enlightenment is being at ease, a manifestations of Suzuki Roshi's 'calmness in activity and activity in calmness'. How do we let our body and mind flow with the comings and goings of the day, with the vicissitudes of life, the hormones and illnesses and stressors and joys and sorrows of living and dying? Being at ease isn't always easy! In Zen practice it cultivated over time by the continual practice of zazen during which you learn the art of sitting through whatever comes up and whatever life throws at you.

I am lousy at being at ease so I practice it quite a bit. My body and family karma was to learn to live an anxious, intense, emotional, judgmental, competitive, and impulsive life. Of course, we live in a performance and image driven culture, a culture of endemic denial, isolation, and fractured families, so this is just my version of the collective angst. Nobody gets off. The equanimity of Zen is both a helpful antidote and a sane way of living, for when we can approach things with stability and balance our world becomes peaceful and calm.

Breathing naturally and mindfully is the root of being at ease, and this requires an open belly and diaphragm, relaxed body musculature, and a balanced posture, all ingredients of meditation. "Breathe!" is a helpful injunction. In order to cultivate an attitude of ease requires examination of how we worry, or how we dislodge our experience from the present moment with anticipation or memory. The present moment is the pivot point of equanimity and balance. I find the more I am at ease the more I am alive and awake in the present, receiving the gifts of experience and relationship.

So much noise and haste!
Flowing with my breath
I return home