FLASH 55 PLUS!

The first Sunday of a new month is upon us again, and it is time for Flash 55. The rules of this prompt have not changed: Write a piece of poetry or prose on a subject of your choice in precisely 55 WORDS.

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PLUS!

Japanese Zen Garden - Dirk Ercken
fineartamerica.com

The optional extra for this mini-challenge is to add a touch of Zen to your piece.  Follow this link for some fine examples of Zen Poetry.

A Word with Laurie: ZEN (Meditation)

Photo by L. Kolp

Busy, busy, busy. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been busy! That’s probably why you haven’t seen me around too much lately and I do apologize (click here to read my exciting news).

How do you handle stressful times? The holidays are coming soon and for many this presents a lot of anxiety. How do you obtain peace in your life?

Courtesy of Wikipedia

It helps to find a quiet spot, close your eyes and meditate. When I meditate, I TRY to think about nothing. I concentrate on a pleasant image, which for me is the beach. Eventually I start to relax. It’s almost as if I’m riding the waves on a raft. I see a white light. Guiding thoughts pop into my mind. I am at peace.

Photo by L. Kolp

Some of you might prefer going on a nature walk to clear your mind. This is something I love, too.



Photo by L. Kolp

As I was perusing blogs, I came across Kim Nelson’s beautiful poem, Flowing Example where the word Zen is used. Zen is meditation. Let’s use that as our word this time.


ZEN
n.
A school of Mahayana Buddhism that asserts that enlightenment can be attained through meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition rather than through faith and devotion and that is practiced mainly in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Also called Zen Buddhism.



Thanks, Kay, for sharing this with me! Click here for more.

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So get meditating on what you will write about. You can use the pictures to inspire you if you'd like. Most importantly, be courteous to others and visit their blogs- leave comments- just as they visit yours.