There is trying to please someone and there is simply being who we are. There is striving to have/get what we want, and there is simply being who we are, letting come what comes and letting go what goes.

There is nothing more important than being who we are, doing what we need to do to be true to ourselves with sincerity, integrity and authenticity, when, where and how we need to do it in just being who we are here, now–not trying to serve our advantage or win the grand prize. The prize is to do it like we would do it. To be ourselves enjoying ourselves regardless of the outcome. How long since we lived like that?

What do the cypress trees get out of being cypress trees? Yet, what could be more wonderful than this scene of cypress trees doing their thing for absolutely nothing more than the joy of being cypress trees in the early morning light? What could they do that would be better than this?

Become a cypress tree. Let the world stop and be blessed by the blessing if it wants to.

God is not a spiritual being. “God” is the name bestowed upon a psychological process that is experienced/known by every living thing. This process is also known as “Psyche,” “Tao,” “Flow,” “Intuition,” “Atman,” “Brahman,” Etc., and is experienced as Presence, Intuition, Guide, Director, Peace, Aid, Etc. “God,” “Psyche,” et al, are just alternative ways of thinking about spiritual experiences. And are where we tend to turn in time of trouble, where go to be comforted, guided, directed, encouraged, reassured, etc. They are where we go for comfort and consolation, balance and harmony. To be stabilized, made fit for what is being asked of us and returned to action.

God, Psyche, Tao, etc., is/are as close as emptiness, stillness, silence (One thing, not three), and are the source of all of our insight, realization, enlightenment, awareness, understanding, comprehension, knowing, grasping, getting it, “being born again,” etc.

I do not know why this is not explained to us early on in our life. It would likely make quite a difference for the better on all levels.

It is ridiculous, obscene, ludicrous, absurd, to think that any of us need to be saved from the fallout of the supposed sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

All that any of us need ever is to be who we are, where we are, when we are, how we are, doing what is ours to do, in each situation as it arises, all our life long–doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place–as the old Taoists said between 5,000 and 500 years before Jesus was born.

What’s keeping that from happening? What is keeping us from being who we are, doing what is ours to do? In each situation as it arises? All our life long?

All of us are waiting to see what the next few weeks bring. The war-racked economy impacts everyone worldwide. And Trump thought he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize. He will take publicity and recognition for anything, at any time, maintaining his status as a loose canon careening around on the deck of Planet Earth, firing away anytime he feels like it. The international economy is a long time away from settling down. As goes the economy, so goes our lives. Prices, salaries, livelihoods, and a future we can count on, all up in the air.

So, where do you go to calm yourself and begin to restore your balance and harmony? I recommend Emptiness, Stillness, Silence (One thing, not three). But, of course I would! The biggie is emptying ourselves of our anxiety, insecurity, uncertainty, and fear of the worst. Take your favorite rock with you to the place you sit in the silence. Consider the rock. The rock has no fear. No concern. No worries. Become the rock. Be the rock. If you cannot carry the rock with you through the day, carry the memory of the rock with you, and allow it to connect you to the Emptiness, Stillness and Silence. If nothing else, it will break your habit of constant anguish and agony regarding our prospects. The rock has no prospects. Become the rock. Be the Rock. And smile.

Sitting quietly, waiting for what is called for by the situation at hand to urge us into action in doing what needs to be done, when, where and how it needs to be done, then settling back into the next thing that is called for, etc., is a routine that has little time for anxiety, fear, worry, with no room in it for anything other than seeing, hearing, knowing, doing and being ready to see, hear, know, do again, situation by situation, remembering that maintaining our balance and harmony is one thing that needs to be done all along the way.

The world is filled with places that have no more promise or hope than this scene at the end of a dirt road in North Carolina. But. For all its forlornness and its forever going no-where-ness, I find it to be beautiful, serene, centering, grounding, and an invitation to sit and stay for a while.

There is a sense of divine/sacred okayness about it that comforts me and brings up a smile, making this photograph my grandest piece of art I have ever produced, awaiting a wall in some museum for the lost and broken, going nowhere, good for nothing–except for butts that sit and eyes that see, then there be blessings and grace galore and gladness that life has lasted long enough to bring us here, now and bless us with the truth that comes with seeing what we look at and knowing what we know. There is promise and hope aplenty for those that can do that wherever they are.