MY HEART IS OPEN

MY HEART IS OPEN

I bow to you as you are. I recognise myself in you; the same presence, the same awareness shining brightly.

Our histories different, yes, but we meet here, in presence, as presence, the same ground.

Our longings, at the root, the same. Our fears, at the root, the same. Different paths, same journey.

I am not fooled by the mask you wear. I am not fooled by appearances. Your clothes, your voice, the colour of your skin, the dirty roads you have travelled, the tunnels you have crawled your way through, the mud under your fingernails.

I am not fooled by the one you pretend to be. The happy one, the enlightened one, the depressed one, the fun one, the blissed-out one, the expert, the one who knows.

None of these roles are you, yet I bow to them too; the ways in which you try to protect yourself.

But it's safe here, friend. Safe to feel unprotected. Vulnerable, raw, open. No judgement, no shame, no blame.

Just this open space, the field that embraces.

My heart is open; there is nothing to prove; we are held by the ground.

- Jeff Foster