{"id":1947,"date":"2011-09-11T11:35:44","date_gmt":"2011-09-11T15:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/solbeam.com\/?p=1947"},"modified":"2011-10-09T10:43:25","modified_gmt":"2011-10-09T14:43:25","slug":"birthmark-of-bravery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seekingsol.com\/birthmark-of-bravery\/","title":{"rendered":"birthmark of bravery"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
I think of you every day. Rest in peace AA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

A black cat leads us in kora.
\nAnd we follow in dumb curiosity.
\nUnderestimating the confidence in that stride,
\nThe intentionality of that tail,
\nNot until three rotations does it dawn on us,
\nThat we have been taken for a ride.
\nThe Cat, he now perches himself perfectly.
\nIn a shape that we finally recognize as divine.
\nBy the time we catch up with him, he is feigning interest in his paw.
\nSo as not to embarrass us.
\nAs we are left dizzy.
\nIn the convergence of impossible realities.<\/p>\n

A dakini whispers to us from behind a stone,
\nA foreboding wind blows,
\nBut doesn\u2019t stop us from a typically human and stumbling approach.
\nThe closer we get, the farther we know we should run away,
\nYet we ache to hear the song clearer and, instead, inch closer still.
\nTill the song is a scream in our ear, and the ground begins to shake.
\nAnd finally comprehending that it\u2019s a language we don\u2019t understand,
\nThat these are secrets we are not yet ready to hear,
\nWe turn – and unclaimed momentum shoves us away.
\nThe door shuts. The dakinis\u2019 whispers hushed.
\nAnd we are left, windblown, in the awe and calm,
\nOf a story rarely re-told.<\/p>\n

Aaron Anderson. Of kora-ing cats and whispering dakinis,
\nYou have always been and will be.
\nA living witness to the greater mysteries,
\nEver pulling on our strings.
\nOn the door of the Mystery, you (always) knock.
\nOn the porch of the Mystery, you pull up a chair with a stranger.
\nIn the trees outside of the Mystery, you identify birds.
\nIn the basement of the Mystery, you search for the rarest records.
\nOn the hardwood living room floor of the Mystery, you breakdance, in spandex.
\nFace to face with the Mystery, you exchange mantras.
\nAnd on the water-bottle of the Mystery, you leave your autograph.
\nFamous AA, you will always be.
\nFor the birthmark of bravery on your soul,
\nThat ever called to you in this life like a bird from the bardo.
\nI have never had anything but faith in you.
\nOr doubt that you would not follow that song in kora,
\nAround this world, around our hearts.<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, in Sierra-tree-stump-sitting dreams,
\nWe laughed together at our fumbles through this fumbling world,
\nAnd at our happiness in finding our friendship in this lifetime.
\nAs I have had faith in all your journeys AA,
\nI have faith in this one.
\nBardos have never held you back. (Quite the contrary.)
\nMay we fumble, find, and laugh again.
\nAs I have always signed all my letters to you:
\nWith love,
\nFrom this life to the last.
\nChristina<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A black cat leads us in kora. And we follow in dumb curiosity. Underestimating the confidence in that stride, The intentionality of that tail, Not until three rotations does it dawn on us, That… <\/p>\n

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