Dear Students of Hakone Zendo,
There is an interesting tension in me as I write to you on this last day of 2021. One part wants to say something wise and positive, while the other part does not want this email to be just another pat comment with well wishes and Happy New Year!’s that tend to be everywhere on this day.
So, instead, I will ask that you participate in an email request/assignment which will take all of 5 minutes at the most….but on 2 separate days…..today and tomorrow.
Go outside, or to a quiet place where you can notice something in our natural world, and just breathe and BE for a few minutes. Notice the beauty and goodness of this time,and as you breathe in allow yourself to feel your own beauty and goodness. There is no one like you. There is only THIS.…the world, the breath, and yourself in this moment.
Do this on the last day of 2021 and the first day of 2022 please. (And maybe start now so that you don’t forget today). And repeat again tomorrow, January 1, 2022.
You are cared for.
Ann Kugyo
Hakone Zendo 