ripples in a pond

I have just come from the chai shop. And as I was drinking my chai, a thundery shower passed. Just the last few drops of rain were still falling. And sipping the chai, I watched as the drops were falling into the pond by the chai shop. And as each drop fell, it sent out ripples, in expanding circles. It was a work of art, watching the random drops, the ripples expanding, crossing over each other, making beautiful patterns. And I noticed that at times many drops were falling, and the whole pond was full of chaotic ripples. And at other times, only a few drops, just a few ripples. And there were moments when the pond was still, without a single drop, no ripples at all. I also noticed that some of the drops led to stronger ripples that kept going all the way to the edge of the pond, and other drops, presumably smaller, made only gentle ripples, that quickly dispersed and disappeared.

Watching these ripples, it reminded me so much of thoughts in the mind. The pond was like the calm, empty consciousness, into which the ripples of thoughts come and go, sometimes many thoughts, one on top of another, rather chaotically, and sometimes few, with gaps in between, and sometimes just silence. And some thoughts seem to carry a lot of energy, and set off a train of thinking, or emotional energy following in their wake. And other thoughts carry less energy and are quickly gone.