The wonder of wise furniture

My living room coffee table teaches me. I found it in a resale shop—to be polite, let’s call it an ‘antique.’ It has a (scratched) glass surface and is supported with lots of curling, ornate metal.

This morning I heard what the table wanted to tell me: That the more transparent you can be, the clearer it becomes how strong and ornately beautiful you are underneath.

Isn’t it a mysterious wonder how anything we see can have a teaching for us? “Consider the lilies of the field,” a great teacher once said, showing us that LOOKING is a way to effortlessly receive enlightenment.

The world is persistently pouring out wisdom for us to notice, if we dare to be poets. This morning, this pouring is happening right here in my living room. I bet it’s happening in yours.

Really, really, really LOOK.