When I wake in the morning, I deliberately enter a sphere of engagement. I slowly begin to engage with myself and with the world around me. I knowingly explore a sensory adventure of stretching under the heavy covers, being aware of my moving arms and legs and the weight of the comforter. The chill of the room is present only in my mind for a time, but I soon become engaged with it with a bit of hesitation.
Slowly, I am aware of my sensory system turning on and I become very aware and engaged with my body, its extremes, its movement. Soon I am stretching on the floor, feeling the texture of the rugs, moving my arms and legs in my familiar and ritualized movements.
Along the way, my thinking is engaged as I become aware of the words and experiences of poets I read daily. I saunter off into thoughts of my own and become freely engaged in the labyrinth of my own mental and heart awareness. I hardly ever know where that might take me. Sometimes I plunge so deeply that I need to take a deep breath, as I just did.
Before I sit on my cushion, I welcome past and present companions into my evolving day, into my sphere of engagement. That sphere of engagement becomes wider and populated by those I love, an activity I will repeat many times though the day in real time.
My sphere of engagement has many portals into my surrounding world. I often check that those portals are open and that rocks, plants and people may freely pass through. I remind myself, and allow myself to feel that openness as I begin a new and welcoming day.
It is a beginning of resolve as I confirm that my heart is not dishonored with hatred. I assert my intention to be a guardian of nature, a healer of misery, a messenger of wonder, an architect of peace, a release from all suffering and a fountain of loving kindness. In this way, I define the contours of my evolving engagement in specific terms and with clear intentions.
Apart from these intentions, my sphere of engagement has few rules or defined limits. I deliberately make it something of a challenge, a hobby and a source of amusement to push aside or dissolve the limits society might put on how I should be engaged. There are so many social norms of engagement such as those associated with my age, my gender, my social status, my choice of companions, the appearance of my garden.
There are some social rules that I think are useful, such as not killing, not lying, not stealing. But there are so many limits and expectations society would place on my engagements that are not helpful to me and a distraction. I regard most of them with suspicion, distain or humor.
As I move through my day, I attempt to be aware of everyone and everything within my sphere of engagement. I welcome anyone who wishes to be so engaged. I take great delight in what is constantly becoming my real world.