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Last evening Lesley and I went to a friend's place for dinner. The
great thing about going to somebody's
house for dinner (aside from the
fantastic food!) is that there is likely going to be some great
conversation AFTER
dinner.
We spent a couple of hours going through the various stories of our
lives, when at one point we hit on a
very painful story for our host.
When he was young, his brother and he were in a horrible car accident.
He escaped with
some bodily injuries, but his younger brother has
suffered life long brain damage due severe head trauma. I experienced
a
similar incident in my 21st year, a victim of a 'hit and run', I
was left in the ditch for dead. I hated God for
a long time.
We got onto the topic of God and asked what kind of God would do such
a thing? Often in times
of crisis we pray for the hand of God to help
us on our way. We are naturally angry and disappointed when there
doesn't
seem to be any logic to God's choices in when to hand out or
withold miracles.
After my divorce with my first wife
I searched hard for an answer to
this and felt certain that if there was a God that he must be cruel.
My divorce was
far more painful for me than the hit and run, believe
me. In conversations with somebody at the time, I was given
a bit of
advice on God that was most liberating and has stayed with me since.
My friend stated flatly: "Life just
is. There are no promises. Make
the most of it, because that is the only choice you have."
Harsh advice on the surface.
But is it? I have learned to think, over
the years, that this advice is actually quite heartening and
liberating.
It means that life, as a rule, has ups and downs for each
and every one of us, and no one person has dibs over the
next in the
miracle department. It means that you and I are just as likely to
have blessings in our lives as the
rich man up the road. In the same
light, the poor child in Banglidesh is due for some miracles of their
own. Equally,
we can all expect some very hard things in our lives,
and that's just the way it is.
It isn't just humans that suffer
this. Nature has done so for billions
of years. The dinosaurs are gone, that is evidence enough for them of
the
cruel inequity of the world. The seasons come and go with storms,
droughts, and catastrophes too many to count. But
nature also brings
the joy of spring, the bounty of a good crop, and restful winters.
You can look to the side of the
highway and see road kill a plenty.
But you can also look to the fence posts and witness the granduer of a
hawk beginning
it's day. Life just is.
When you go to work today and the person in cubicle 33 who has left
their wife for
a younger woman wins the $29 million jackpot, don't
question "why". The only answer is "Life Just Is." Seek
out your own
blessings, find joy in all things, and don't let the apparent inequity
of things bring you down. As
another friend of mine often says, "It
all comes out in the wash."
Why I Aspire To Be The Water
When I think of an element that I aspire to emulate it is water.
Water is everywhere and it is the crux of all things
living. The
river begins its journey to the sea from atop the highest mountain.
Nothing can stop the water from
getting to the sea, it is far too
flexible and adaptable. If a rock gets in the way, it goes over,
under, or around.
If winter comes, the does not fight the freezing
but patiently awaits the spring thaw so that it can continue towards
the
ocean. Some times it gets too hot, so the water evaporates and
rises into the clouds which carry it further on its
journey.
Eventually the river reaches the sea, having surpassed all
impediments. This is how I would like to be.
Water
does not complain. It sings all the way along its journey. I'm
sure you've all enjoyed the sound of rushing rapids
or a babbling
brook. Water knows where it wants to go and it does not rush nor does
it get distracted.
Some
like to be the rock; steadfast and firm. There is nothing wrong
with that. Water shall encounter the rock time
and time again in its
journey and never will the two have a troubled word. :O)
Be well everybody, and thanks for
tuning in.
The website is updated. Check out the Spiritual Cafe if you are
local, I am looking for some people
to join my book club. We will
begin in September with The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. Cheers!
The Little Spider That Could
For most of my morning meditations I sit outside in the backyard. It
is a wonderfully quiet place and it is hard not
to feel inspired as
you wake up with the waking world around you. The thing about
meditation is that become highly
aware of everything around you. This
heightened awareness is one of the great gifts of meditating: You see
wonder
and amazement in the most ordinary of settings.
You also see much more detail. This morning I noticed the smallest
spider,
no bigger than a pinhead. I would not have seen him at all if
I had been busying myself with taking out the trash
or letting out the
dog. But as I was meditating, see the teeny fellow I did! I was
amazed to see that he
had spun a web directly in the center of the
carport. All spiders spin webs, I know that isn't such a big deal.
But
imagine the epic journey it would have taken this tiny creature to
reach all four corners of the carport in order to center
its web! The
width is at least 11 feet, the height much the same. But this little
spider worked up a sweat
and put himself in the perfect place to
capture bugs on their morning flights. Heroic!
That little spider became
my hero for the day. It demonstrated to me
that there is nothing we cannot do once we firmly put our minds to to
task.
Other spiders would have found an easy little corner in which
to setup shop. Far less silk wasted and far less
energy. The
downside with this is that there are far fewer flying insects that
find themselves in dark little
corners. The 'little spider that
could' put a whole lot of effort into setting his trap in a
high-traffic zone,
and I'm willing to be he was gut-bustin' full by
days end.
This life we lead, this great adventure, is wasted if
we don't stretch
a little. We need to stretch our efforts beyond our old breaking
points. We need to stretch
our minds to imagine the great
possibilities that await us around the corner. We need to stretch our
understanding
of just how connected we are to all living things and
the lessons they have to offer. Once we have stretched a little
our
webs will shine in the morning sun like no others. Imagine what we
will catch!
The Albino
I have been reading a novel by an author named Michael Moorcock that
follows the adventures of a mystic-warrior named
Elric. Elric is an
Albino, a bit of an outcast, feared by some, revered by others.
I picked up the book because
I remember how much I liked Moorcock's
work in my teenage years. Growing up in a farming town I found that I
shared
many characteristics of the Albino warrior. He was different.
He was an outcast. He found the power to succeed regardless
of the
World's view of him. He was oblivious to ridicule and hate. In my
early teen years I felt very much
like Elric and found strength in his
example.
As an adult, an adult rediscovering my path, I relish my uniqueness.
I
find that my little eccentricities help to define me as an
individual in a world filled with billions of people. My
love of all
things to do with Star Wars, my hunger for the Spiritual path, my
taste in literature, all 'smack' of the
eccentric. They help to make
me the person you know today.
The World has many unwritten codes that try to
tell us how we should
behave, and what we should do as productive adults. I know it is
important that we try to
see through this kaleidescope, this illusion
of what is normal. We deserve to measure our joy and our
individuality
by our own yardsticks. We deserve to be all that we
dream. We are all worth it.
Do you have joys and
passions that you keep buried deep inside because
you worry that people may think you are weird? We all do. Do
you
fill your life with milestones and material goods that you think will
give you better standing in the game of life?
I know I do. But being
aware of the web of approval we look for helps us to see through it.
I look again
to the Albino for strength. Like the Albino, we can all
be revered for our uniqueness.
Close One Eye
A friend of mine was questioning me on the idea of perception. I am a
firm believer, due to my experiences in
meditation and in daily
application, that we can change our perception of feelings and events.
By being mindful of the
illusion that is our lives we can dramatically
change how we experience it.
Skeptical? Do you think that some things
are just crappy, that life
isn't fair, that some people just have more stress and problems than
others, that there is
no changing how we move through the world? I
invite you to close one eye. Notice anything strange? Open
both eyes
again. Now close one eye again. By employing this simple technique
you have changed your perception
of the world! When both eyes are
open, the world appears to be 3 dimensional. When you close one eye,
does
the world become 2 dimensional? Of course not. But you PERCEIVE
only 2 dimensions because by closing one eye you lose the
benefit of
binocular vision. Now close both eyes. Does the world disappear? Of
course not! But your perception
of the world is no longer visual. Who
knows, maybe the world has 7 dimensions, it is only that our limited
tools
for perception (five senses) do not allow us to digest them
easily. This is not so far fetched. People that are blind
from birth
do not have any visual perception, in images or colour. But they
don't let that stop them from living
meaningful lives. We work with
what we have.
Meditating involves the same kind of action as choosing to close
one
of your eyes. Only when we meditate, we alter our perception by
slowing things down, by becoming aware of
the moment we are in. We
choose to quiet the mind of its myriad of conflict so that we can
appreciate the richness
of where we are. When I mediate one of my
favourite things to do is become acutely aware of richness of sound
that is around me. Right now as I type this, I can hear the gentle
hum of the office air conditioning. To my
right are voices from
people on the phone with customers. I can hear the clitter-clatter of
the keyboard as I
type. Faintly through the window a car honks. I can
even hear myself breathe.
By becoming aware of your physical
perceptions, and by practicing how
you can manipulate them, it isn't a big stretch to realize that we can
make these
changes inside as well. We can walk throughout the day,
slow things down, and dramatically alter our perception of
how things
really are. We can experience quiet joy in all things.
We have all known people that are constantly
negative, that gossip
about people and find the bad in everything. We also know people that
always have a smile
on their face, people who's lives just seem to go
right all the time. I personally have to use a great deal of effort
to
stay on track, to see the world in vivid colour. It is work for
me, but work I am much better off for doing.
When
ever things seem overwhelming, just close one eye and slow it
down. Just don't do it when you're walking, you may
bump into things.
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