If we live long enough,
we all come to the same realizations,
the same truth.

Those who know,
know the same things.

Those who don't know
are lost in the world
of their own aspirations
and desires,
their wants and their will,
incapable of perceiving what's what
and what needs to be done about it
for the true good of the whole,
bent and focused as they are
on their own way and having it, or else.

The "or else" extracts a heavy price--
in their own life time,
and over the eons and ages
of life on earth,
to the detriment
of the best interest
of all concerned. 

Profit--that is to say,
"My Profit NOW"--at any price
does that over time.

Ah, but. 
In the meantime,
"Let the good times roll!"

Bread and circuses now--
what do we care about the future?

The epitaph of the planet.

Apparent to anyone
with eyes to see.

As it is with the palms and pines,
so it is with the high rises
and the skyscrapers--
with Miami,
Charleston
and New Orleans
among the first to go. 

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Playing it straight up,
living from the heart,
no contriving,
conniving,
scheming,
lying,
deceiving,
pretending,
not being true to ourselves...
is something we have to live
our way into being
truthful from the inside out.

We cannot be truthful from the outside in--
because someone tells us to.

We can only be truthful because we are,
because we have lived long enough
to know it is the only way to be.

Truthful:
integrity,
sincerity,
spontaneity,
straight from the heart,
because we must be
because we know so
and not because someone,
our parents, say,
told us so.

We have to live our way
to knowing so.

What we know for sure,
for certain,
for always,
is what we know in our bones.
In our stomach.
In our heart.
In our body.
Because we have lived our way there. 

It is what we are living for.
It is who we are living to be.

Our live will lead us there,
if we live long enough.

And, may we all! 

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Everything falls into place around clarity.

Clarity is the product
of emptiness,
stillness, 
and silence--
and the relentless practice
of asking all of the questions
that beg to be asked,
and saying all of the things
that cry out to be said
in each situation as it arises.

This brings to light
all of the conflicts,
contradictions,
dichotomies,
and polarities
that have to be recognized
and reconciled,
or borne consciously
as mutually exclusive,
antithetical contraries,
forever sources
of the legitimate agony of life
that is our lot to carry
with grace and compassion
throughout our days upon the earth--
thus reconciling ourselves
to the irreconcilable facts of existence,
letting it be because it is,
and going on with our life,
anyway,
nevertheless,
even so,
without allowing it to prevent us
from doing what needs to be done,
when, 
where
and how it needs to be done,
every day,
all our life long.

Our parents are always our parents,
for example,
our background is our background.
How we live with that,
how we deal with it,
and what we do in spite of it,
tells the tale
we are here to tell
with our original nature
and the virtues/specialties/gifts
that come with us from the womb,
in being who we are,
no matter what,
here/now
always. 

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We all need to go
sit down in a quiet place
and wait for realization/awareness/enlightenment. 

Enlightened beings do not do "it"
the way we do "it."

Seeing things changes things.

We are stuck where we are
because we do not look
and wait to see.

We are all pin balls 
looking for a flipper.
And anything will do.

Nothing can be done for us
in our present state of chaos.

Upheaval and disarray 
characterize our day,
and we are not pleased
with anything for long.

And there is nothing wrong with us
that the right kind of reflection
and realization won't transform
into the way things need to be--
which is always at the expense
of how we want things to be,
because everyone has to grow up
against their will.

Once we grasp this fundamental fact
of existence,
everything is instantly transformed
in an "Oh. Okay, then," kind of way. 

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We cannot see,
or be shown,
what we cannot see.

We all have "blind spots"
due to our assumptions
and expectations,
beliefs 
and convictions.

Our psychic configuration
can shut down 
our physical abilities.

We are possessed by
forces we cannot comprehend.

People who have been
"brain washed,"
or hypnotized--
and where does that line lie--
lose their ability
to function appropriately
in the world of sense experience.

They cannot experience 
their experience.
They are cut off from themselves,
and live as zombies or robots
among those who see what they look at
and know what they know
and what they do not know.

Ideology does that to its adherents.
Fascism is a way of seeing
that does not see, hear, comprehend
the world it cannot see, hear, comprehend
because its ideology blinds it to reality.

Arguing with a fascist,
or a religious fanatic,
is a lost cause.

Asking them,
"Who says so?"
about everything they say,
and "How do you know 
they know what they are talking about?"
and, "How can you be sure 
that you are right about that?"
and, "What would it take to convince you
that you are wrong about that?"
and, "What would it take for you
to change your mind about that?"
and, "When did you come to your present
point of view?"
and, "What convinced you that your former
way of seeing was inadequate?"
are ways of shifting the focus
from what they declare to be so
to how they came about their convictions
and how they might examine their convictions 
in light of something other than their convictions.

They are locked into a tight circle
of believing what they believe
because they believe what they believe
is the only possible thing to believe,
and they cannot get outside of how they see
to see what they are looking at.

We have to see our seeing
and ask all of the questions that beg to be asked,
and say all of the things that cry out to be said, 
if we hope to see anything at all.

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An immediate side-effect   
of mastering the art
of Caring/Not-Caring
is the ability to be at peace 
with whatever comes up
in a "So What? Who Cares?
Why Would Anybody Expect
Anything To Be Different
From This?" kind of way.

And, that enables us to
laugh at everything that happens
with, "Of course!
This is the way things are
in a cosmos where nothing is assured
and anything can happen at any time!"

We are all just lucky to be here
as we are every day!
We are upheld and sustained
by the grace of existence
all of the time!

Russia can invade Ukraine,
fascists can take over 
the Supreme Court,
Congress
and the White House
and destroy democracy over night,
and it all can go quite to hell
in our lifetime.

And if/when it does,
our relationship to it
will not change one bit.

We still will have to get up,
face the day and what happens in it,
seeing what is called for
and doing what needs to be done about it
with the resources we bring to the moment,
moment after moment
in each situation as it arises
all day long
every day.

Our circumstances can be altered
in 10,000 ways,
but our place remains the same
in all of them--
seeing what's what 
and doing what needs to be done 
about it
to the best of our ability
all day long
every day.

And we do that best
when we are emotionally
balanced and in harmony,
spiritually/mentally/physically
in a "So what? Who cares?
I'm doing the best I can
anyway, nevertheless, even so,
no matter what,
through all the cirumstances
that may arise!" kind of way
all the time.

We are here/now.
Why not live as a blessing
and a grace
upon everything and everyone
who comes our way?

How can anyone do better than that
in the best of circumstances?
Why would anyone do other than that
in the worst of circumstances?

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We have heard of Wu-We, "Doing without striving, 
without intention, without agendas, plans, goals, ends, etc.

There is another Wu-We-like attitude 
that is equally essential,
and I do not know the Chinese word for it:
Caring While Not Caring. 

Living like we care deeply about everyone
and everything,
while not caring about anyone
or anything.

Live caringly with all things and people,
so that they can't tell the difference
between being cared about
and not being cared about.

Care about living your life as it 
needs to be lived--
as it needs you to live it--
when you don't want to get out of bed,
answer the phone,
go to work
or do anything that needs to be done.

Stand up and meet the moment
in the way that is appropriate
to the occasion
when you want to walk away
in the opposite direction.

Care while not caring.
Act like we mean it
whether we mean it or not.

If we get that down
in conjunction with
doing/not-doing,
we will be offering the world
exactly what it needs
in every situation as it arises,
and all will be blessed,
including ourselves.

And our blessing may be
the greatest of them all.

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The joy of now
just as it is
just as we are
is rarely mentioned,
rarely experienced.

We are striving to be 
somewhere else,
some way else,
some how different,
some place better.

This won't do.

The wonder of being here/now
is wasted on us.

I invite you to drop into here/now
from time to time,
and consider all the things
you don't like about it,
and all of the things
that are just fine about it.

We are always one slight
perspective shift 
away from being just fine
with things as they are.

Dissatisfaction is our own doing
most of the time.

Frame of mind is the best weapon
in our arsnel
for turning things around.
It is generally the first thing
that needs changing
about the way things are--
and the right frame of mind
is essential 
in making the other things 
that needs changing
more like they ought to be
than they are.

Which is the on-going task 
for everything/everyone--
assisting things in becoming
more like they ought to be 
than they are.

And knowing when to stop trying
to improve things
that are just fine 
exactly as they are.

A sleeping baby, for example.
Or, a puppy playing
with a red rubber ball.

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We see things differently 
and strive to impose
the way we see things
on each other
and all others.

It's crazy from the start.

Whose idea about how things are
and how things ought to be
is the correct idea?

How do we establish who is right
and who is wrong
about how things are
and what should be done about it?

How do we know what we are talking about?

Ties generally go to the bullies,
to the wealthy and powerful,
to the belligerent and vicious,
to the wealthy and powerful,
in a "might makes right,"
"law of the jungle"
kind of way. 

Civilization was supposed to even things out
in a "majority rule" kind of way,
but,
wealth and power twist the system
and make voting an empty step
in a dance on a tilted table,
with right still going to the highest bidder
or the craftiest player,
and wrong winning the day again.

The systems are controlled
by those whose gain lies
in controlling the systems.
And The People suffer the will of the wealthy
across time and place,
while corruption carries the day.

Leaving us to make out as well as we can
in a world of sham and appearance
while the band plays on
and everyone knows nothing changes over time.

What can we get by with is the question.
How true can we be to the way
of liberty and justice for all
in a world where corporate profits
trump individual rights
and "Profit At Any Price" rules all?

It is a test of our endurance and character,
will and determination,
to be a champion of how things ought to be
on a world of graft and deceit.

"Do your work and step back,"
advises the Lao Tzu.
"And let nature take its course."

Our life is the work that needs to be done
and needs us to do it,
regardless of the outcome,
no matter what our chances are,
anyway,
nevertheless,
even so.

A cup of cold water here,
a kind word there,
the spirit of grace and compassion
in all places at all times...

For the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it
in each situation as it arises
all our life long.

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Meister Eckhart wrote this about a realization he had:

"It seemed to a man as in a dream--
it was a waking dream--
that he became pregnant
with Nothing, 
like a woman with child. 
And in the Nothing,
God was born: 
God was the fruit of Nothing."

Everything is "the fruit of Nothing."
Nothing is the source of all that is.
Empty yourself of all things
and there you will find what you need.

Being content with nothing
is having more than enough,
and God is born out of nothing,
like the stone the builders reject.

Out of scarcity comes the water of life,
spilling over,
pouring out.

Start with what you have--
with the nothing that you have--
and watch what comes of it.

Pick yourself up and step into the day,
and do there what needs to be done
out of your original nature
and the innate virtues/specialties/gifts
that are yours from birth.

And be amazed at the wonder
of what nothing can do.

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