No Matter What is Happening

from The Mother Poems by Shambhavi Sarasvati at Kindred 108. We're all kindred here.

Every day, we choose some clothes.
But if we’re too attached to appearances,
then in all this magical display,
there’s nothing to enjoy.

If we have enough,
yet worry about getting more,
then despite the miracle of
inhabiting this form,
happiness eludes us.

If times are hard,
and we rail against them,
fear distorts clear seeing, and
we cannot skillfully cross
the river of circumstance.

Living or dying, if
we care too much about
the times behind us,
we cannot gain the fruits of
this supreme passage.

Life renews constantly
like waves continually
riding to shore.
If we only want to grow and maintain,
while rejecting subsidence,
our suffering will drown us.

Our Mother is
the living light
of infinite circumstances.
We rest in Her
awake, dreaming,
living, or dying.

If you have recognized this,
try to remember
in every moment, every day.
To do this is our sole aim,
no matter what is happening.

from The Mother Poems by Shambhavi Sarasvati