Dear friends,
If you are new to practice, it may be the
hope of living with greater ease in your life that inclined you to learn about mindfulness. After a while, you may find yourself trusting the practice because you notice that, in fact, it
is bringing you greater ease. So you keep practicing. That’s the
faith. Eventually, with practice, meditation becomes your way of relating to life. It becomes your way of
being.
This way of
being has recognizable characteristics. If you are wondering what they are, a good example comes from Dr. Lee Lipp’s life and the words that colleagues, friends, family and students use to describe their experience of her:
compassionate, kind, transparent, welcoming, honorable, patient, inclusive, accepting, connected, grateful, present.
This issue of
Every Now and Then Encouraging Words brings news of Lee's death, following a deep and full engagement with cancer in the body that was representative of everything that made her an exemplary teacher. Each step of the way, she opened to the experience of whatever was unfolding. Even when it was frightening. Even when it was painful. Even when it was unbearable.
And also, when it was life affirming and downright funny. In the process of dying, the vast range of mind states that can arise is no different from the rest of life -- from light-hearted playfulness to full-bore terror. Lee embraced them all, equally. “Hello fear!” she’d sometimes find herself saying during sleepless nights. “Hello lovely!” was the greeting that accompanied her big bright smile when a volunteer walked in to help with her laundry. “Hello ancestors!” she’d say to the dust piling up on the windowsill. “Hello” to it
all! This is the welcome mat the mindfulness practitioner places at the front door and the way in which Lee embraced life. Fully.
Her “encouraging words” linger now in the lives of those who loved her and learned from her. And her teaching and encouragement continues through various means, outlined below.
Recognizing that the news of Lee’s death may be coming to you for the first time, I would offer, as Lee might have, that this is an opportunity for practice. Notice the ways in which this news activates body sensations or particular thoughts and feelings. You may be experiencing surprise or sadness or gratitude for her teachings. Perhaps a tear wells up your eye or a sweet memory emerges -- or something entirely different and seemingly unrelated. Whatever it is for you, consider putting out the welcome mat -- and simply saying “hello!”
Just “hello.”
Warm regards, Tracy Masington
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*Tracy Masington, M.A., is a non-sectarian pastoral counselor and longtime Dharma practitioner who knew Dr. Lee Lipp for many years as a dear friend and colleague. She has been a contributing writer and co-editor of Every Now and Then Encouraging Words and will continue the legacy of Lee’s newsletter. Stay tuned.
