A concert pianist, crippled waste down because of an accident, had sat daily in nature under an apple tree. After being depressed for years, he decided to continue playing. He had to find an instrument he could carry with him to the apple tree - an accordion - which he had to learn to play from scratch to compensate the loss of movement in his melody yearning fingers.
“I can’t drag the damn piano to the apple tree, can I?” he once eloquently said.
He found meaning in his life playing by the tree. He played for himself, he played for the birds, he played for the mountains, he played for the apple tree… he played. If the passers by gave him any money, or some food, he’d be thankful; and if not, he’d be fine with that too.
He observed that most people in the world running around like disoriented little ants to make money or to reach high places so that they could hopefully one day enjoy simple things in life, were in fact missing the whole point. “I am already enjoying life without money or legs. Why would anyone run anywhere when we all have access to the fullness of life right now?” he’d say.
He sat there playing… he played, he just sat, but he listened…he listened at all times.
“The air here is wonderful, and I adore it when the wind brings the scent of the surrounding herbs to my nose. It’s like having a personal agreement with the wind. I am here, I can’t move much, and I love it. Where is there to go but here anyway? There is no there. Bring there here god damn it!” he’d say.
A meditation:
Bite into an apple right now where you are sitting. Chew it slowly and patiently; feel every ounce of juice and every sensation of taste, sound, and texture that accompanies chewing a delicious apple. Chew it so completely that you are not thinking about something else while your jaw shifts to autopilot forgetting that you are actually eating an apple. Become the act of chewing. Intensely observe if there is anywhere else to be but here, and ask yourself, “What is lacking in this moment to make my life whole?” If there is an answer, it’s not true. Keep repeating until the question dissolves.
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