Resting in the Midst of Fluctuation

Here’s a polished version that preserves your voice and the poem’s quiet, meditative quality while refining the flow and imagery:

Resting in the Midst of Fluctuation

Long ago, at a lake,

I shared a picnic

with my Aikido teacher and his family.

At one point,

we went around asking each other:

“If you could be any animal, what would you be?”

My teacher said,

“Maybe plankton,

floating in the water—

gently drifting,

moving with the waves.

And if a fish eats me,

well—

‘Ah, I’ve been eaten.’

Something like that.”

He laughed.

When I heard this,

I felt surprised,

and at the same time—

a lightness,

and a deep ease.

Just drifting in the water.

Moving with the current.

Swaying with the waves.

Gently…

softly…

floating.

Without resistance.

Just as it is.

Resting in the midst of fluctuation.

Living beings adapt as they change.

The environment is always shifting.

Circumstances are always changing.

And we ourselves

are beings of fluctuation—

not fixed,

but always moving,

always becoming.

That is why

we can meet change without breaking.

Resting in our own fluctuation.

Resting in the midst of fluctuation.

In everyday life,

it’s okay for such a way of being

to be here.

This, too,

is a way of being.

Words and Photo by K E I K O