Zen, like all self- knowledge, can be ambiguous. What does it mean?You can only know half of reality, at best. Consciousness can observe many things, but it can’t observe itself,because consciousness is the one looking. It can never see itself,because it’s the one looking. maybe it’s better just to look, listen, and hear, right nowwithout trying to make sense of it…because you’re handicappedcoming out of the gate.
There is no doubt that the world is a little chaotic,to say the least.It’s easy to bitch and complain about the state of politics,or the current health crisis.Just remember that it’s SUPPOSED to be that way;it’s a challenge to try to steal your attention, your focus,your Courage…but be still. Hold steady, though the wild winds blow-that’s how warriors are made, and not oneis without scars.
The debate as to whether the world is ordered, by some unknowable design (or designer), or a chaotic cause and effect has been raging for years. What would happen if we let go of our egoic need to “produce order” out of the chaotic mayhem, and instead, looked for and learned from the order that was there all along, and took up the task of finding the positive meaning, hidden in the Chaos? Our lives are not the sum total…
They live among us, these friends of mine but they may as well be from a forgotten era, a time where the work is hard, life is fragile, and the seasons brutal. Though most would perish, they revel in it, and an endless day alone in the wilderness in the dead of winter is if anything- too short. They remind me that the Laws of Nature have not been repealed.
He called me often, needed a hand. He said “please…sometime, call ME for help!” I said I was always more than willing to help. With tireless devotion, he tended to his wife…stricken with MS…and I don’t know which of them suffered more. But never once did he complain, though his face showed the strain. “I can’t help it” he said “I love her so much!” and I was reminded again that LOVE is a verb…
So often we struggle to be seen as “right”.Seeking validation is a sign of weakness, and right and wrong are often nebulous at best. A true Warrior is not concerned with joining groups or how he is seen; he travels his path, facing his personal darkness, and pushes forward for the light on the other side, knowing our darkness is the path to our growth, and is our personal journey, to be traveled alone.
In the mid 1500’s Hernán Cortés landed in the new world. Seeing that he was drastically out numbered, his men asked him what they should do…”burn the boats” he said. If you have a dream, set fire to your “plan b”.
The dance of opposites is what makes everything possible.Dark doesn’t exist without light,just as computer code needs both zeros and ones.We come to grasp, hopefully, that how we choose to usethe experiences of our past, shape who we arebut do we ever consider that the future is also calling usto who we are to become? Who we are right now…depends on both.
I will be doing a Martial Arts training Tomorrow, April 29th 2020 on Zoom as a guest instructor at Barnes Martial Arts. Contact me if you wish to attend; children through adults welcome. Also, I will be interviewed on The Palmer Files regarding my latest book “Out of My Mind…and Intending to Stay There” on Thursday, April 30th, 2020. To check it out, visit http://thepalmerfiles.libsyn.com/
Be the Warriornot the worrier.Warriors are forged by the routines they keepwhen no one is watching, no one is around.A Warrior knows that it’s the balance of trainingthe body, the heart, the mind, and the soul; practices that differ for every individual, that forges their spirit.We are born to find our unique facets, and never make apologiesfor keeping them sharp;and never wait for the applause. (image Courtesy of RENE RAUSCHENBERGER at Pixabay)