Finding our way to The Way one situation at a time. I don't know how great it will be, but I expect it will be interesting, and I look forward to it going on past all reason because wonder is just that way. Are you coming or not?
We make it up as we go, dancing with what the day brings, maintaining our balance and harmony as best we can, looking for what needs to be done and doing it using the gifts of our original nature and our innate virtues/specialties/things we do best and enjoy doing most, guided by what resonates with us, catches our eye, sparks our interest, calls our name. Like a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee. This is not hard, and there are not enough days.
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What's it mean? What's it matter? Who's to say? How do they know? It comes down to us and this moment, here/now. Are we going to rise to the occasion, or not? Are we going to step into this moment and do right by it, or not? Why? does not matter. Of all the things that do not matter, Why? is at the top of the list. We can have the worst motive in the world for doing right by this moment, and what matters is doing right by this moment, and all the moments following this one. Do that and let Why? go. When the baby needs to be fed, feed the baby! It doesn't matter Why? Trust things to work out on their own, without anybody in charge, overseeing, directing, ordering, commanding, demanding... "Eat when hungry, rest when tired." When it is time for lunch, do lunch. Do not wander around in Why? Just do lunch. Here we are. Now what? What is called for here/now? Do that. It will lead to the next thing. Do that. If you don't now what is called for, wait. It will become clear with time. Do it. Where, when and how. Don't worry about Why? Why? Disrupts the flow. Why ask Why? What? is the question. What needs to be done here/now? Get that right every time, and that's it. No one could do more. What's up? Do it. Where, when and how it needs to be done. That's all there is to it.
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Circumstances are always coming along, crashing into circumstances already in place, creating new circumstances on the spot. Circumstances have been here from the start. There never was a time before circumstances. Circumstances generate circumstances as a perpetual motion machine, never stopping, always going, spinning out more circumstances at days end than there were at the beginning. Where do circumstances come from? From circumstances! And we will do well to stay out of their way, as much as possible! They have a life of their own, coming and going, like galaxies and planets, animal species and mountain ranges. I could sit and watch them for eons and ages, looking out some window.
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The way we see things has implications for the life we live and for the lives being lived about us. I recommend seeing the way we see things and reflecting on that in emptiness, stillness and silence, and seeing how our seeing impacts our seeing. Bringing intentional reflection to bear on anything changes our relationship with it. We change our relationship with ourselves by being aware of it, and in so doing, we change ourselves by the simple act of being aware of ourselves. We change the way we swing a tennis racket merely by becoming aware of how we are swinging the racket. Awareness transforms our life, transforms our world, the world, and the impact it has on us, and we on it. The best thing you can do for your life is to be aware of it. It is also the best thing you can do for yourself.
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The fascists among us hate us because we are not fascists. The fascists feel safe only among other fascists. Everybody else exists to serve them. If they can be of no service, they are fit for nothing other than death. That is how fascists think. The fascists are arranging things politically so that they win every election. Gerrymandering works that way. It is a slick trick for defeating democracy using the tools of democracy. When the fascists own the polling places and own the courts they will own the country. Our only hope is to vote in large numbers in every election, and to not vote for the fascists in any of them. Fascists call themselves "Republicans," thinking the rest of us are too stupid to know the difference.
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Balance and harmony, peace and tranquility are the grounding qualities enabling the kind of reflection that leads to realization and right-action. They are countered by noise and complexity drama and trauma-- the destabilizing aspects of our environment our life too often encounters. Thus requiring regular recurring retreats to emptiness, stillness and silence in order to return to the anchor stone and avail ourselves of reflection and realization. Our life is a rhythmical flow from stabilization to destabilization back to stabilization. From balance and harmony to noise and complexity, back to balance and harmony. Practice recognizing your present state and the routine required to maintain or return to the state required for seeing/knowing/doing/being in sync with the movement of vitality and life through each situation as it arises. A structuring practice smooths the flow and leads the way through the heaving waves and clashing rocks of the daily round.
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Grace is the foundation of the universe. Grace is the Tao in action. Grace is Transcendent beauty/wonder coming to life in our lives. Grace is another term for Synchronicity, for the spontaneous-- of-the-moment--arising of need meeting need met. What we need, when we need it, where and how we need it to be. Arising of its own volition, its innate will-to-be here/now, because that is how Grace is. Blessing us all with its glory-- for no reason beyond that's what Grace is, that's what Grace does. The other term for Grace is Luck. Pure, juicy, Luck-in-the-moment. Who is in charge of dispensing Luck? It is entirely of itself! Rising to the occasion as blessing and Grace, occasion after occasion, from the beginning to here/now. We cannot count on it, and we cannot dismiss the possibility of it, ever, at any time. That is the very nature of Grace, Synchronicity, and the very best of Luck ever. Amen! It is certainly-- and forever-- so!
Each situation carries within it the seeds of its own solution, to be planted by those with eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that understands/comprehends/ realizes what's what and what is to be done about it, and does it, with its own original nature and innate virtues/specialties/what it is best at-- in the right time, in the right way, knowing intuitively when and what that is. And the solution takes root like that (Snaps fingers), blooms and produces fruit, leaving everyone amazed at the wonder produced when at least one person is in sync with the rhythm and needs of the here/now and responds to it out of their integrity/sincerity/spontaneity in the service of the good of the whole, transforming the world one situation at a time, all for nothing save the joy of doing it and the satisfaction of having done it-- and moving on to do it again in the next situation that comes along. Or, as Mary Poppins liked to say, "Anything can happen if you let it." And Mary Poppins is a perfect example of how life can be done, one situation at a time.
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It is said that the Buddha held up a Lotus flower before a crowd and said, "You can look at this flower, and either see it, or see it not." Only Mahākāśyapa smiled. Seeing is smiling. Is laughing. Is rolling on the floor, or the ground, howling with delight and wonder, amazement and joy. And Jesus warned that in the realization of all that was missed after death there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth-- not because of the sentence of hell, but because of the unforgettable knowledge of having lost the chance of life. "You can look at this flower-- at all of life-- and either see it, or see it not." What are we missing about what we look at?
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Vitality, integrity, sincerity, heart. Foundational principles for guiding our way through life. Original nature. Innate virtues. How we do what we do best. Aligned with the center/source, balanced, in harmony, inner and outer, yin and yang. The way to The Way is The Way. Wanting more, with eyes on other things, distraction, disruption, disharmony, destabilization. The way to the wasteland is always at hand. Focus, attention, intention, deliberation. Daily tasks for the work of seeing/hearing, knowing/doing/being. Emptiness, stillness, silence. Companions for the journey, every day.
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Our response to the circumstances/situation can interfere with/prevent the solution to the circumstances/situation. Our influence is the uncertain element in the work to balance the equation that is every situation as it arises. In light of Shel Silverstein's observation, "Some kind of help is the kind of help that help is all about, and some kind of help is the kind of help we all could do without," what kind of help do we bring to bear upon the circumstances we encounter in a day? How would we know? How do we evaluate the impact of our own influence? What kind of shadow do we cast on the circumstances at hand? How do we know? We might try walking around watching ourselves in action, just observing without judgment or evaluation. Just seeing. Just hearing. Just knowing. Just reflecting. What role do we play in each situation throughout the day? What are we trying to do? How are we trying to do it? What kind of help we bring to bear on the situations we encounter? How is it received? What is the outcome? How often are you sure what needs to be done? How often are you unsure? What types of situations have the best outcome from your point of view? What types have the worst outcomes? Seek your own insight as an interested observer. What do you have to say in the matter? How do you rate the value of your own participation in the situations arising through the day? What suggestions does your inner observer have to offer? Keep the conversation going through all the days left to be lived. And see what your nighttime dreams have to offer over time. See where it goes...
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Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy