Coming to terms with the day-- with our life-- means seeing the day (our life) just as it is, and allowing that to be that without any more emotional response than that associated with letting a tree be the tree it is, or letting a cloud be the cloud it is. Seeing things as they are and letting them be as they are is enlightenment in its essential form. Enlightenment is knowing what we know and letting that be that-- and knowing what the implications are and letting that be that. The implications of anything come down to the way we live in light of the way things are. It means what we do in response to things being as they are. It means doing what needs to be done in response to the way things are. When it is cold outside, we put on a coat. Seeing/knowing/doing/being is living an enlightened life. Enlightenment has nothing to do with wanting/getting/having/possessing/owning/wanting... How much of our life do we spend living to get what we want and avoid what we don't want? How much of our life do we spend doing what needs to be done regardless of what we want? Can we even separate what the situation is calling for-- what the situation needs to be done-- from what we want from the situation-- from what we want to be done within the situation? Can we let things be what they need to be no matter what we want? Is what we want what we need? Do we impose what we want upon the situation, or live in the service of what needs to happen in spite of what we want? There is no difference between living an enlightened life and growing up.
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Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 