Sitting out in the winter sun with my old faithful mongrel dog at my feet.
His old legs don’t carry him well anymore and he groans just as much as me as he gets up and sits down.
But we are at peace, the sun glints through shaded trees;
The breeze makes him twitch his nose as he ‘reads the doggy papers’;
I meditate with slow deep breaths from the dantien calming my system down with neigong;
We both commune with the Dao, me with skill, him naturally;
All the fuss of politics, social media and martial arts dissipates in nature;
As the ‘unborn’ rises to the top,
Still, calm, powerful and true – like the sea, laying beneath but connected to the movement of the waves;
This is where I go for refuge – and happy to be with my companion.
And a large cup of chamomile tea.