Let’s start with “Basic Goodness.”

This precept of Tibetan Buddhism holds that the entire universe, and everything in it, is fundamentally good. Darkness grows stars. Decay returns fruitful. Chaos folds, forever, into the genesis of something new. Of something now. In this very moment you can find the sky behind the clouds. Even still, life itself is the product of creativity, beauty and order.

I sing of still life photographs and dishes; fingertips touching and watercolor flower stems bending, of rosy cheeks and sparkling stones. All things arranged in vignettes of this very moment. And I invite myself, over and over again, to feel. To relax into the open sky. Stay just a while longer in the inner field beyond the beyond.

Like my mama’s box of boxes. Dad’s old records. The trees surrounding Cloudfall Pines. We are at home here, inside the setting sun. Trusting it will rise again. And dancing.

One day I was walking along the path behind my house, headed to teach an early yoga class in town. I was wishing I could be back in the warmth of my bed with one pillow under my head and another to cover my eyes. The river bubbled through melting ice beside me. My breath hung foggy in the crisp mountain air. I was completely alone, or so I imagined. But from down the narrow path, a creature came straight toward me. It was a little fox just winding down his dawn.

As he walked past me, he raised his head all perky-like as if to say, “Good morning.” I curtsied and greeted him back, “Well hello, you.” Then, we each continued on our way.

You never know what the wind can do.

What magic is waiting, when you leave your sleepy dream and step inside Basic Goodness.

Basic Goodness is an everyday reality. It is the memory of what expands beyond all judgement; broader than opposites, bigger than fear. It welcomes you in to have a steaming cup of Zhang Cha. To wake up, slow down and read the Book of Wonder. To kiss more and keep the door wide open. To let the fresh air in. This is where we begin.

And seeing what’s real—boundless and groundless and sane—we step into full participation with the creative impulse of life. Still, life. We swallow the essence of beauty where it stays warm in our bellies for the rest of our days. It cannot be sent back or unseen. It is the gift of a moment. The smell of a blossom. Aspen leaves like rain-sticks. A million stars and more sand than can be counted, wet and between your toes, as waves crash in…and out. Like the breath of a thousand babies. Sheets billowing on a line, drying in the sunshine. Like the game of remembering and forgetting this: You are simply, truly, intrinsically, primordially, fundamentally and basically good.

Relax into the open sky and stay awhile.

‍