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?
Road to Botany Bay 12/04/2014 Oil Paint Rendered — Botany Bay Historical Preserve, Edisto Island, South Csrolina
In the natural world,
a lot of time is spent waiting
for the time for acting
to come around again.
In the artificial world,
there is no time for waiting--
there is nothing but action,
in a "Don't just stand there!
DO something!" kind of way.
In the artificial world
of normal, apparent, reality,
we act out-of-time
all of the time,
doing things that do not need to be done,
whether they need to be done or not,
because we need to be doing something
constantly.
If we aren't doing something,
we are talking about something
we have done,
or something we are going to do.
We don't do anything
we can't talk about having done.
The artificial world is action oriented.
Doing is The Thing.
If we aren't doing,
we are wasting time,
and prove our value
by the amount we get done in a day.
Looking out the window
doesn't count.
Rockport Harbor 01 10/13/2009 Oil Paint Rendered — Rockport, Maine
We all face situations
that call for a response from us.
Some are serious situations,
some are recurring situations,
some are trivial,
some are life changing...
Our place is to know what is called for
and to respond as well as we can
out of the gifts of our original nature
and the innate virtues/specialties
that are outs from birth,
doing what needs to be done
the way only we can do it,
situation after situation,
dealing with what arises in a day,
day after day,
and letting that be that.
That is all Jesus and the Buddha did,
and it is all that is asked
of each of us.
We all get up and meet the day,
and do there what is called for,
and do it again tomorrow.
There is a certain rhythm and flow
to meeting the day,
knowing what is called for,
doing what we can as best we can,
and doing it again tomorrow.
If we can just meet the day
without expectations and opinions,
agendas and plans
getting in the way--
without trying to make the day
do what we want it to,
and, instead, do what the day
needs from us--
things go better,
more smoothly,
in a gentler, kinder,
kind of way.
And the emotional stress
that goes with striving
to wrestle the day
into what we want it to be,
diminishes and disappears,
as we just dance with the day,
seeing what it needs from us
and doing what is needed,
day by day.
Rockport Harbor 02 10/03/2009 Oil Paint Rendered — Penobscot Bay, Rockport Maine
Orthodox Christian Theology has been around
from well before the beginning
of this country.
"God" is assumed to be,
taken for granted as,
the background prop
holding things together.
"The Father Almighty."
"The Maker of Heaven and Earth."
"Garden of Eden,"
"Sin,"
"Atonement,"
"Forgiveness,"
"Hell,"
"Blah, Blah, Blah..."
All of it has been invented/inherited
through the ages
as the way things are.
Sin was made up to explain the collapse
of The Chosen People,
their defeat by the Babylonians (609 BCE)
and the deportation of the upper levels
of society to Babylon until their release
and return (538 BCE).
"It is the punishment of God because we sinned!"
Heaven and hell developed over time
to explain the deaths of righteous people of God
in wars with pagan forces
as places where the good would be rewarded
and evil people punished.
All of theology has been created
to make us feel better about the way things are,
to help us reconcile ourselves
to the bitter contradictions
in our life experience
("Truth forever on the scaffold/
Wrong forever on the throne" --
James Russell Lowell).
Extending the time period in which Right
will be rewarded and Wrong will be punished,
manages the incongruities between
a loving God and the inequities of life.
We have been at it so long
that it has become the backdrop
of the culture worldwide,
and we are not free to explore
alternative possibilities
as the foundation for life
between the visible and invisible
"worlds" of our experience.
We are left with taking up the Quest
for making sense of the nonsense of life
on our own,
seeking ways to accommodate ourselves
to the dichotomies/polarities/contradictions
at work in our lives
and providing ourselves with a grounding
perspective for interpreting
the contraries and incompatibilities
of our umwelt,
maintaining our balance and harmony.
keeping ourselves on "The Path,"
and guiding ourselves along "the way."
Being conscious of the importance
of this work,
and going about it in a deliberate/intentional way
keeps us centered and focused
on the task of mindfully adjusting
ourselves to the requirements
of here/now reality
throughout the days of our life.
Roan Mountain State Park Oil Paint Rendered — Pisgah National Park, Bakersville, North Carolina
"We are on the brink of something great!"
What a difference for our country and the world
if the Republican Party 60 years ago
had made that the foundation of every Platform
in every election cycle!
And lived to make it happen!
But it was not to be.
The foundation of every platform
in every election cycle was,
"This country is going straight off the edge
into oblivion
thanks to the Democrats and their give-away-entitlement-programs,
and their social justice spiel,
and their abortion and gun control stands!
Be terrified of the Democrats!
They are the end of Democracy!
They are the end of the world!
Elect Republicans!
We will keep you safe!"
Republicans created a terrified electorate
who cannot own enough guns
and who shoot at everything that moves.
Scaring their constituents with every interview,
every speech, is their only plan/platform.
It is easier to control people who are afraid.
Trump said, "No one can save you but me!"
"I am your savior!"
"I will build a wall and keep you safe!"
Keeping them frightened keeps them voting
for Republicans who continue to keep them frightened
in order to stay in office
on nothing more substantive than,
"Elect us and you will be safe!"
Lindsey Graham said, stumping for Trump in SC,
"Donald Trump may have done some terrible things,
but at least he is not a Democrat,
and he won't take your guns away!"
Keep them scared and they will vote for you
like their life depends on it.
Rockport Harbor 01 10-13-2009 Oil Paint Rendered–Penobscot Bay, Rockport, Maine
Some ways of being in the world
are better/worse than other ways
of being in the world.
Being Jesus is being ourselves
with a particular spin on it.
Being Jesus is also being the Buddha,
and being Lao Tzu,
and Chung Tzu,
and Lei Tzu,
and Wen Tzu...
and all those who have known
what is to be known,
and who have done
and what is to be done about it.
That is the spin that transforms reality
by seeing/being/doing what's what
and what is called for
in each situation as it arises,
and is, therefore,
"transparent to transcendence,"
and IS transcendence
the way the path to The Path
is also The Path.
Which is to say that
everything reveals transcendence,
discloses The Path,
to those with eyes to see,
and nothing does
to those with eyes incapable of seeing.
Those who are incapable of seeing
kill those who see.
Dying is the price of seeing
and the price of not-seeing.
But.
It is only a transition point
for those who see,
and it is the end of the line
for those who do not see.
Seeing transitions into transcendence,
not-seeing disappears into
Poof You're Gone That's That.
At least, that is how it would be
if I were writing the script.
As it is,
it is all waiting to be seen,
or not-seen.
See?
Rockport Harbor 03 10/13/2009 Oil Paint Rendered — Penobscot Bay, Rockport, Maine
By upgrading our grace quotient--
that is, the amount of grace
we exhibit in our life day-to-day--
and making in depth inquiries into
how graciously we live,
with kindness and compassion
for all that comes our way,
we will be setting in motion
a way of life
that receives well all things
in our path,
and creates an atmosphere of generosity
and benevolence
surrounding us,
and what we do,
and how we do it,
adding elements
largely missing from the daily experience
of human beings worldwide,
and making the world a better place
just by the way we conduct our affairs
throughout each day.
What is keeping that from happening?
Schoodic Wave 10/02/2008 Oil Paint Rendered — Sch0odic Point, Acadia National Park, Schoodic Peninsula , Maine
We can easily make things worse
trying to make them better,
and we can make them worse
being afraid to try making them better.
What to do cannot
depend on thinking it out.
We have to act
when the time for acting
is upon us
and work things out
as well as we can
in the aftermath.
No one is smart enough
to avoid making things worse.
Everyone has to know
when things are bad enough
to do something now
even if it makes things worse.
When things are bad enough
we have to look for better
and take our chances.
When it gets bad enough again,
move again!
Keep dancing until the band
quits playing!
Or, until we find good enough,
whichever comes first.
Smoky Moon 05/19/2005 Clingman’s Dome (Parking Lot) — Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee, North Carolina
Everything is coincidental/accidental,
and, "The more we practice,
the luckier we get,"
but expectations and plans
still get in the way
because things do not often go
the way we expect and plan.
Each day we step into circumstances
that are the result of prior circumstances
and culminate in consequential circumstances
which generate additional circumstances,
and there is no end to it,
unfolding,
emerging,
developing,
evolving,
evoking,
eternally,
everlasting,
world without end.
And we do what we can with it.
Make what we can of it.
With no control over any of it.
Yet, we expect things to be
what we want them to be,
and strive to have that be the case.
If we got rid of wanting/expecting
and simply cooperated with our circumstances
to see what can happen here/now
and working with that to achieve
a state of equilibrium with what is happening,
we would be doing what the whales
and lions,
octopi and eagles
do on a daily basis,
with no opinions
and no judgments
to get in our way.
The difference between cooperating
with our circumstances
and controlling our circumstances
is quite substantial,
and we would do well to explore
the differences,
seeing how we might adjust our
goals and methods
in ways that enhance our well-being.
Wanting/expecting would take a hit,
and our motivation for living
might have to be rethought,
but cooperation not control
could have benefits and pleasures
worth exploring.
It is an experiment
that could become an adventure!
Smoky Woods 10/27/2006 Oil Paint Rendered — Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, Tennessee
There is no Why?
There is no Because!"
There is no Master Plan.
There is no Plan of any kind.
There is no reason
for things being the way they are.
Things are the way they are
in response to something else
being the way it is/was.
BUT! Not BECAUSE something else
is/was the way it is/was!
The response did not have to be
what it was.
What is the reason things responded
the way they did?
There is no reason.
They could have responded in countless
other ways.
There is no Why?
There is no Because!
Which should put an eternal end
to all of those "If/Then" scenarios,
and to the eternal idea
that "all of our problems will be solved
if we just kill" somebody.
But, no.
And this supports my argument entirely.
There is no Why?
means there is no predicting the future.
We do what we do in response to the situation
thinking that such-and-such will happen,
and maybe it does,
But.
Other things also happen that were
completely unanticipated,
disrupting the flow of events
and creating a flurry of situations
that constitute what is generally
referred to as "a mess."
And this plays into Taoism full tilt,
in that Taoism is about balance and harmony
as a permanent response
to the Yin/Yang at work in every circumstance.
Alignment with the Tao is seeing what is happening
in a situation
and what is called for in response,
taking everything into account,
and responding in ways that serve what needs to happen
while being careful to balance the things that
are keeping what needs to happen from happening,
so that the forces favoring "For"
and the forces favoring "Against"
are honored and respected in recognition
of the importance of equilibrium and stability
within the situation.
That kind of approach is the end to war--
and to extreme positions of all kinds,
reducing ciaos to manageable wobbles,
and making life better for all concerned.
Where the mountains are made low
and the valleys are lifted up,
and Yin/Yang are maintained
within an acceptable range
of balance and harmony
throughout society.
This cannot work without all people
within the society understanding/accepting
that no one can have what they want
at the expense of anyone else,
and everyone shares mutual responsibility
for the good of the whole.
Which cannot be imposed from the top down
or from the outside in,
but has to be organic,
from inside out
in response to the circumstances
requiring something to be done.
That response is mediated by a cultural attitude
honoring the Tao,
the flow of balance and harmony,
throughout the culture
above all else.
Which is to say, an environment
in which the Tao is natural
and not forced.
Where would you go to find one of those?
It has to start where you are,
with you being what is needed
in each situation as it arises,
and seeing what happens in response
over time.
Sourwood 02 11/04/2020 Oil Paint Renderee — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
We need more time!
If we only had more time!
Everything would become clear
with time!
That is the fundamental illusion.
Jesus perpetuated the folly
with his,
"Wisdom is known by her children" line,
and even if we extend the theory
to the level of the grandchildren,
or the great-grandchildren,
wisdom still lies unrecognized
by those who perpetuate racism, say,
or sexism,
or ignorance and stupidity, etc.,
forever through all of the ages and epochs
of time.
We do not grow up ever as a collective!
Only individuals attain the level of seeing
that makes a difference in their life,
and they cannot pass it along
even to their disciples.
Jesus' disciples wrecked what he handed to them
in their own lifetime.
The same can be said for the Buddha.
The old Taoists lasted the longest,
but even their understanding
of how things are
and how to respond appropriately
disappeared over time,
and things returned to how they really are
all of the time--
which is how they are now,
if we only look around.
We see as individuals,
not as communities
or congregations,
and what is known as Revealed Truth
cannot be passed along
even to one's own children.
Those who know in any generation
can only seek out each other,
and enable the growth of one another
in small groups of two or three,
but rarely larger,
grasping and serving what they can
of the light
while they last,
encouraging one another as they are able
for the work
of seeing/hearing/knowing/doing/being
"transparent to transcendence,"
through the way they live,
and allowing that to be that
when they die.
Sunset at Clingman’s Dome (Parking Lot) 05/16/2005 Oil Paint Rendered — Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee, North Carolina
Until the church renounces its theology
and embraces its role as children/servants
of the light,
rejecting sin and embracing seeing,
it will remain a relic of wistful thinking,
delusion,
deception
and denial.
As things stand,
the church is only a slight shift in perspective
away from turning the light around,
understanding metaphor, not fact,
to be the ground of its resurrection
from the death of its own devising.
"The spirit is like the wind
that blows where it will,"
and we cannot keep up with the spirit
using spiritual laws,
doctrines,
dogma,
catechisms,
liturgical rigidity and ritual,
systematic theology,
orthodoxy
and literal interpretations
of the Bible.
The qualities required to walk with the spirit
are integrity,
sincerity,
spontaneity,
balance and harmony.
An affinity for
emptiness,
stillness
and silence.
An intense curiosity,
innocence,
and openness
to the fullness of experience.
And, the more we can be
empty of opinion,
expectation,
judgment,
wanting,
fear,
willfulness,
stubbornness,
resentment,
jealousy,
and the need to have our way NOW!--
the better things will go
in developing our relationship
with the spirit that is like the wind.
And we will be able to be open to,
listening/hearing,
looking/seeing,
feeling/trusting
what is happening in each situation as it arises,
and responding as needed
to what is called for
with the gifts of our original nature
and our innate virtues/specialties/things we do well
that came with us from the womb,
offering what we have to give
to what needs that which needs what we have to offer,
for the good of the whole,
and the joy of doing it,
and the satisfaction of having done it,
through all of the circumstances of our life,
all our life long.
May be be so!
And, when it is so,
the church will be the church!
String Lake Reflection Oil Paint Rendered — Grand Teton National Park, Jackson, Wyoming
What's money for?
Buying what's needed
to do what needs to be done.
Buying the tools required for the work.
What's the work?
Being servants of the light.
Asking the questions that beg to be asked.
Saying the things that cry out to be said.
Being who the situation calls us to be.
Doing what the situation calls for.
Rising to the occasion
by doing the right thing,
in the right place,
at the right time,
in the right way.
Being like the spirit
that is like the wind
blowing where it will
in the service of the light.
All of this is metaphor.
Metaphor is all there is.
Because we cannot say what is.
It is too much to be said.
There are no words.
Sit down.
Shut up.
Welcome
the emptiness,
the stillness,
the silence,
and wait
for the energy of life and being
to stir to life in the silence
and bring to mind something urgent,
compelling,
attractive,
inescapable,
irrestible
drawing you into the field of action,
into the flow of the energy of life,
that resonates with your heart and soul,
and calls you forth
in the service of the light
to do what must be done here/now,
who knows why,
it doesn't matter why,
or how we know,
without being able to,
or needing to,
explain,
defend,
justify,
excuse
our action,
trusting wisdom to be known/validated
by its children,
or its grandchildren,
or to be the necessary mistake
that wakes us up,
and turns the light around,
sending us off in a different direction
in the service of the light,
like the wind that blows where it will,
not knowing where it will be blowing next.
There is no plan,
no agenda,
no map,
no rules to carefully keep,
no footprints or recipes to follow...
There is only the silence
and what arises within it
to draw us into action
like a lover following the beloved,
not knowing where/when/why/how,
only this or that here/now,
trusting ourselves to know what to do
when the time for doing
is upon us,
allowing ourselves to be led as needed
to do what is needed
in each situation as it arises
through the circumstances as they evolve
our entire life long.
And letting that be that.
And yet, and yet...
There is balance and harmony at the core,
at the center,
and stability/certainty/confidence/reliability
at the heart of aimlessness and unknowing.
It is a knowing unknowing,
a deliberate aimlessness,
a peaceful, joyful, participation
in the experience and expression of transcendence,
as we become ourselves a metaphor
for more than words can say.
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 