You Never Know (when a Bodhisattva will arise)

from Sleep Baby, Sleep by Gray Cox

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lyrics

“You Never Know (when a Bodhisattva will arise)”

Quiet in the meadow, stretched from earth to sky
Digging down for minerals, reaching up for light.
As pistils and stamens make their statements, expressed in hopes as seeds they fertilize,
You never know . . . when a bodhisattva will arise.

Busy, busy, busy, bustling from flower to flower
Harvesting the honey, communicating pollen.
While in the tree a cocooned caterpillar, wrapped in silk suspended lies.
You never know . . . when a bodhisattva will arise.

Busy, busy, busy, going from thing to thing.
Not centering in silence, not taking time to sing.
But then an unexpected interruption, a shock, a startle, a surprise.
You never know . . . when a bodhisattva will arise.

Encountering compassion, come in an unexpected guise
Relaxing every muscle, opening into a smile.
Inexplicable elation, breathing out a sigh
You never know . . . when a bodhisattva will arise.

credits

from Sleep Baby, Sleep, released June 22, 2015
“You Never Know” was recorded by Maximum Tone Studio at College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, 2014, all words and lyrics by Gray Cox
gray@coa.edu, breathonthewater.com

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about

Gray Cox Bar Harbor, Maine

Gray is a singer/songwriter who plays bones and guitar. He is a parent, grandparent, Quaker and philosopher. He teaches at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine is a co-founder of the Quaker Institute for the Future, and works on issues of peace and human ecology. His blog, combining music and social commentary is at breathonthewater.com. ... more

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