A little while ago I was sitting with a friend. Something was troubling her and her agitation showed: in the tension in her body; in the slightly rigid way it was moving; in her voice; in her face. Everything was rather angular, there was no smoothness.
Then, midway through a sentence, she paused. And for a few seconds there was pure poise. Her body and face relaxed; her movements became flowing and graceful.
Even though that moment of poise was rather fleeting, it showed, vividly, how our mental state affects our whole body, our whole being. When we are agitated, we are suffering in mind and body. Let us hope we have more and more moments of poise. For in that moment, my friend exuded the gracefulness and peace of a buddha.
