Lessons of an Old Leaf.

We've all got to die sometime.
~ Pap, when me or one of my sisters would complain of a sore throat

Ajahn Brahm, a Buddhist monk, in his book, Opening the Door of Your Heart: And Other Buddhist Tales of Happiness, relates a Thai parable called Falling Leaves about a monk who witnesses a dreadful storm, and how it affected the environment, in particular the leaves on a tree. Many old leaves were on the ground, but also some yellow leaves, and also some small green shoots. When he looked up at the tree, he found that there were many young green shoots, some yellow leaves, and very few old brown leaves. With that the monk understood that the nature of death was similar to this storm.


Everyday I look out of my studio and kitchen window at this tree and the prayer flags blowing in the wind, spreading good will and compassion for the benefit of all. And for months now, everyday I notice this particular old leaf. It held on through the autumn rains, and through winter snowstorms that took ALL of the other leaves off the tree. This old leaf, the last of its tree brethren, also unbelievably survived several vicious wind storms with 70+ mph winds that blew down trees and took out electrical power throughout the Eastern United States.

This old leaf reminds me of my grandmother who outlived her husband, her parents, her siblings and all of her doctors' predictions, and how she kept her humor and spit-fire spirit despite her failing body. Each day, we were thankful to have her, and each day she would wake up saying, "Oh shit. I'm still here.", until on January 31st of this year, she passed away peacefully.

Not a month later, this old leaf was there when my friend Andrea, who one moment was full of life, love and energy, died suddenly from bacterial meningitis, leaving behind her beloved, her parents, and all of her siblings. I hung the prayer flags on the day of her funeral, and that old leaf was there to challenge and comfort me, a reminder of Ajahn Brahm's teaching.

And today, yet another storm, and this old leaf is still there to share its wisdom.