01

We can't live fifteen minutes
without taking sides.
Generally, that would mean
taking our side against all others.

This is the baby screaming to be fed.
It's always something.
Wanting this,
not wanting that.
My Way Now!

There must be cultures
where this is not the case,
perhaps where the baby's needs
are anticipated,
and not allowed to run the show.

Waiting until the time is right.
Knowing how to read the times.
Knowing what now is for--
what it is time for now.

That is the most important knowing.

Not, "What do you want?"
But, "Can you tell what time it is?"
And, "Can you submit to the times
that are upon you?"
"Can you sacrifice yourself to serve
the needs of the times?"

If we could live attuned to the times,
attending the times,
living as loyal devotees to the times
that are always at hand...

It would be a different world.

We can transform the world
just by living to be what the times
need us to be,
doing what the times need us to do,
living in accord with the times
that are at hand.
Here and now.

–0–

02,

We are built to impose our way upon the world.
At least it seems that way.
The people who impose their way upon the world
are in charge.
At least it seems that way.

Those Who Know Best And Must Be Pleased
stand out in a crowd.
They are built to impose their way upon the crowd.
Any crowd.
Every crowd.

They are your preachers,
and your politicians,
and your activists,
and your community organizers.

Bullies all.
Pushing people around.
As though they actually know what's best.

If they are so smart,
why is their family in such a mess?

The old saying,
"It is easier to be a saint
than to live with one,"
applies doubly to Those Who Know Best
And Must Be Pleased.

Nobody can live with one of those.

They don't seem to notice,
or care.
It is hard to know what they care about,
beyond having their way.
Nothing, probably.

And the rest of us have to deal with them,
which means giving them wide berth.
But that means leaving them to run the show.
Look around.
Things are in such a mess
because Those Who Know Best
have been running the show.
Every show.
Forever.

Which leaves us where exactly?

With knowing what's what 
and what's to be done about it.

We have to draw a line.
And pay the price of drawing the line.
The very thing we are most hesitant to do,
and Those Who Know Best count on it.
On our being hesitant to draw lines.

We have to draw lines.

To draw lines, we have to live
out of our adamantine core.
Out of our rock-solid center.
Out of our crystal clarity
about what must be done,
and where,
and when,
and how.

And do it.

We have to say "NO!"
Where it needs to be said.
When it needs to be said.
How it needs to be said.
Because it needs to be said.

But it takes so much out of us to do that.

Nevertheless, it must be done,
and it is ours to do it.

And you know what I'm talking about.

Do it.
As often as it needs to be done.

Your center knows.
Live from there.
No matter what.
Forever.

–0–

03

There is being clear and right
about what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
and doing it,
no matter what.

And, that is all there is to it.

This is where mixed-motives
come into play.

On the one hand this.
On the other hand that.
And on another hand that over there.
And don't forget that other thing over there...

We lose focus,
leave the path,
depart from the way,
stray far off the beam,
and wander forever
in a wasteland of conflicts of interest
and mutually exclusive desires.

And here we are.

The way back to Eden
winds through the heart of Gethsemane
and across the face of Golgotha.

This is the narrow way,
the slippery slope,
the dangerous path,
like a razor's edge.

And those who manage it are few.

I can tell you what it takes,
but I cannot tell you how to get/have what it takes.

Heart, for example.
I can tell you it takes heart
(And soul, and mind, and strength),
but I can't tell you how to find heart
(Etc.).
How to get it,
develop it,
have it,
trust yourself to it,
devote yourself to its service,
with liege loyalty and filial devotion,
moment-by-moment,
day-by-day,
in each situation as it arises,
forever.

But that's what it takes.

And maturity.
Maturity that is self-awareness,
and self-discipline,
and self-correction...

We live ourselves to all these things
over the full course of our life,
or not,
depending on all the variables 
that have to fall into place
at the right time
in the right way
to enable the right response
to the events, context, and circumstances
that make up our life.

What are our chances?

And so it is said,
"Fine is the balance,
thin in the line,
between having it made
and having nothing at all."

Which leaves us with knowing what's what,
and seeing what needs to be done about it
right here,
right now,
and doing it.

In each situation as it arises.

And letting that be the strategy
that guides us along the slippery slope,
the dangerous path
through our personal equivalents
of Gethsemane and Golgotha,
to resurrection and new life
at "the still point of the turning world,"
the Axis Mundi,
in the center of the Garden of Eden,
where it all begins. 

–0–

04

Actual reality is moving,
changing,
shifting,
transforming,
transitioning
all of the time.

We can't pin reality down,
or pen it up.

That's true whether we are talking about
the position of electrons,
or protons,
or quarks,
or how likely we are to change our mind
(about anything).

Approximate reality is the best we can do.
This is how we are now,
we don't know how we will be then,
whenever we declare "then" to be.

We make declarations of conviction and certainty
that seem as though they will be valid forever.

And are divorced in six months.
Or three.

We might take the brevity of our deep commitments
into account,
and preface them all with,
"At the present time," or,
"For the foreseeable future..."

We are all becoming other than we have been.
We are wrong to think not,
and need to be more open to it
and deliberate about it.

We are on the way to seeing,
thinking,
realizing,
believing,
being
different in a number of possible ways.

It is going to happen with,
or against,
our will.
Why not assist it?
Encourage it?
Participate joyfully in it?

We are wonders drinking coffee
and eating bagels!
Why not wake up to the wonder
of being a wonder?
A wonder being alive
to the wonder of being alive?
And wonder what's next,
and look forward to seeing
what the rest of the day holds? 

–0–

01

When the lion lies down with the lamb
only one of them gets up.
That's nature for you.
Nature doesn't play favorites,
or take sides.

"The big fish eat the little fish,
and the little fish swim through
the netting that hauls the big fish
to the cannery."

That's the way nature works.
No compassion.
No morality.
No ethics.
You take your chances
and don't complain
when your luck runs out,
because nothing is promised,
and things average out along
the "normal distribution curve"
over time.

Our place is to not take it seriously,
and to offer kindness,
compassion
and good company to all who come our way,
because no one has it easy for long,
and we all can use more help
than we get.

So do what you can to make
everyone you meet welcome
with an encouraging word
and a "Mind how you go,"
as the Brits might say.

We all have the same work to do--
what needs to be done
in the time and place of our living.
And it's good to take courage
in the presence of one another,
and face what's to be faced
as best we can

Taking on the world each day
in the spirit of having each other's back,
makes a tough place a better place
for all concerned.
Just offer what you need,
and everyone will be grateful.

–0–

02

A philosophy of health
is a philosophy of life.
If you aren't clear and becoming clearer
about that which guides you
along the way,
you aren't being guided along the way.
You have left the path,
lost the way,
and are wandering without direction,
meaning or purpose
through the wasteland of discontent,
and it shows.

It shows in 10,000 ways.
You could list them all.
You live them daily.

The way back to Eden
winds through the heart of Gethsemane
and across the face of Golgotha.

Do you have the heart for it,
is the question.
It is a religious question.
A spiritual question.
It demands that you know who you are
and what is guiding your boat
along its path through the sea.

It requires you to transform your relationship
with yourself,
your life,
and other people,
in being who you are
within the context and circumstances of your life.

In knowing what is important
and living in light of it.

In doing what needs to be done
where it needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
the way it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done,
in each situation as it arises
all your life long--
without contrivance,
trying to get ahead,
exploiting the moment
for your good,
your benefit,
your advantage,
your gain--
not letting "the left hand know
what the right hand is doing,"
living spontaneously,
sincerely,
with integrity and compassion,
grace and kindness,
using your gifts/shtick/daemon/specialties/virtues,
that came with you from the womb,
and the face that was yours before
your grandparents (on both sides) were born,
moment-by-moment,
day-by-day.

I have found it to be helpful
to be alcohol-free.

To observe a 12-hour fast per day,
consuming no calories
from the last calorie at night
to the first calorie the next morning,
every day.

To make a regular place for silence
throughout each day.

To attend each night's dreams.

To keep an eye on your balance and harmony,
and your spirit, energy and vitality
as a way of remaining in accord with 
the center of your life and being,
the core of what is important,
the truth of who you are
within the context and circumstances of your life,
and a companion with the mystery at the heart of it all.

Being alive in the time and place
of our living
is a full time project.
Distractions abound.
Diversions are everywhere.
"The path that can be discerned as a path,
is not a reliable path" (Lao Tzu).

Thus, the importance of being alert 
to what is happening,
to what is called for,
to what needs to be done here and now,
and doing it,
where it needs to be done,
when it needs to be done, etc.
your whole life long.

–0–

03

It is always the right time for something.
What is this time right for,
here and now?

Answer that question correctly,
and you have it made,
as much as you can have it made,
in a world where what needs to be done
is lost in a stampede
of wants and desires,
preferences and disinclinations.

–0–

04

Elvis Presley said,
to his spiritual advisor
(What a job that must have been),
speaking about the women who loved him,
"Do you realize that
I will never know if they love me
or Elvis Presley?"

That's the heart of the matter.
It gets straight to the point.
It highlights the fundamental
loss of integrity
that is the burden of those
who reject/refuse the work
of being who they are
in deference to the roles
assigned to them
by their place in life.

"Am I me,
or am I who they think I am?"

"Am I me,
or who I think I'm supposed to be?"

And Elvis' spiritual advisor missed
his chance to say,
"Write a song that says,
'It's easy to love me
if you don't know who I am!'"

01

It takes such silence--
such being quiet
and noticing what is in the quiet 
with us.

What is right now.
Right here. 

It takes such narrowing down.
Leaving the drama at the door.
The constantly looping tape
of what happened when to whom,
and whose fault it is,
and noise, noise, noise...

Remove the noise from our life
and there is nothing there.

We feed on noise.
Noise keeps us from knowing
how it is with us--
and there is anguish there,
and agony,
and fear...

So bring on the drama!
Bring on the noise!

We don't have what it takes
to do what it takes
to just be here, now.

Nobody is just here, now.
Everybody is somewhere else,
on their way to somewhere else.
Thinking about something else.

We have to be here, now.
Thinking about--attending--
what is with us here, now.
Knowing what needs to happen here, now.
And doing what we can 
with the gifts/shtick/specialties/abilities/etc.
that are ours to serve and to share,
to do what needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
how it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done,
here and now.

That is the tape we need to loop
repeatedly forever.
"What needs to be done here, now?"

We do not need to escape the present.
We need to be present in the present,
doing what needs to be done, here, now.

Simple as that.

–0–

02

My idea of/for The Great Society
isn't all that great as societies go.

There would be no disparity,
for one thing.
No polarity.
The upper echelon
would interact regularly
with the lower castes,
and everybody would be living
out of the center of who they are,
around the eternally valid watchwords:
"Know Thyself!"
"To Thine Own Self Be True!"
and:
"Do Unto Others 
As You Would Have Them
Do Unto You!"

Everyone would be looking
to see what they look at--
seeing what needs to be seen,
hearing what needs to be heard,
knowing what needs to be known,
doing what needs to be done--
in each situation as it arises.

No one would be out for themselves
at the expense of everyone else.

The guiding lights would be
"Liberty And Justice For All."
"Balance And Harmony."
"Spirit, Energy, Vitality."
"Sincerity, Spontaneity, Virtue."

And to maintain their awareness
of their responsibility
for creating and serving the atmosphere
required for life to be properly lived
in the society,
each person would be mindfully aware of
their swallowing and breathing,
in that swallowing and breathing
are things all sentient beings have in common.

Difficulty in swallowing and/or breathing
would be the cue to move
back toward the center,
aligning themselves with the way
of the society,
and being true to themselves
in relationship with all others,
working out the conflicts/contradictions
with grace and compassion,
awareness and dedication.

No one would be too poor,
and no one would be too wealthy,
and all would live together
in light of,
and service to,
the true good of the whole.

Needless to say,
this would wreck the hell
out of our current system
of life together,
and transform how things are done
throughout the world.

But, the swallowing/breathing trick alone
would do away with the need for armament
worldwide.

–0–

03

What kept Sisyphus going?
The same thing that kept Jesus
and the Buddha going.
The same thing that keeps me and you going.
What else could it be?

We all get the same thing
out of doing what we are doing.
The pay-off is the same.

A friend asked me why I did what I did
(I was a minister in the PCUSA for 40.5 years).
I said, "I get paid for it."
She said, "They couldn't pay me enough to do it."
I said, "They couldn't pay me enough to do what you do"
(She was a therapist).
We had a good laugh,
and got back to work.

It isn't the pay!
It isn't the results!
It isn't the glory!
It is the pure joy of doing what we do,
and the satisfaction of having done it!

If there is neither joy nor satisfaction
in what you are doing,
you need to shift your perspective
about what you are doing,
or start doing something else.

I recommend the perspective shift.
A perspective shift is possible
when what you are doing uses 
the gifts/specialties/shtick/abilities/daemon/virtues
you were born with
and you can believe that what you are doing
and the way you are doing it
(You may have to change the way you are doing it)
needs to be done. 

Sisyphus had to do what he did,
so he did it as though it were his idea!
He did it as though he loved it
with all his heart.
He did it as though he were acting the part
in a movie about him,
and he was playing his role
as though an Academy Award 
were on the line.

He played his part so well
even he couldn't tell his feelings for it
were genuine/authentic or just very well pretended.

Was his joy fake?
Was his satisfaction false?
What difference would it make to know for sure?
The impact upon Sisyphus was the same
as it would have been if it were real,
so it may as well have been real.

That's how Jesus did what he did.
It's how the Buddha did what he did.
It's how I'm doing what I'm doing.
How about you?

01

Something happens
and we decide what it means
and respond in some way
that we think is appropriate.

The fulcrum lies 
with our interpretation and response.
We control, 
or strongly influence,
how things play out
by what we do next.

We lever the future into being
with our response
to what just happened.

We must become aware of our interpretations
and the actions they generate,
and how that spills over
into the rest of our life.

The actions we are unaware of
create the circumstances
we call fate.

The things that keep happening
to us
are the things we set in motion
by the way we interpret
and respond to
what happens to us.

We shoot ourselves in the foot,
not knowing we are pulling the trigger.

–o–

02

Where does the right way
of responding to our circumstances
come from?

How do we know it when we see it?

How do we know what is right
and what is wrong?

Where does knowing originate?

What is the source
of the way that is right for us,
and the way that is wrong for us?

Mystery is the ground of life and being.

It moves us toward this
and away from that.

It is the way of life
for all living things.

"Yes!" and "No!"
are all we have to work with,
and they come to us 
from we know not where.

To live without awe and wonder
is to be operationally dead.

–0–

03

Some things resonate with us,
some things repel us--
what is the mechanism at work
with either?

We know less than a millionth of one percent
of all there is to know.
But, we act like we know everything that matters.

Science is a necessary corrective
on our hubris and ignorant arrogance.

Science knows it doesn't know,
and is always looking to see better
what it thinks it sees,
and to see something
of what it doesn't see at all.

You can't say that about religion.
All religion everywhere
knows all it needs to know
about everything worth knowing.

Ask any adherent of any religion
what their deepest questions are,
and you will get something cute and shallow.

Questions are nowhere close to the heart
of religion.
Conviction taken on faith
reins supreme.
"Taken on faith" means
"Taking someone else's word for
whatever they take on faith."
And "knowing" all they want to know.

Mystery lies at the heart of life and being.
All of the questions beg even more questions,
and all of them together
constitute a universe of their own
infinitely larger than the physical universe
which gives rise to the questions.

We don't know.

We live to know more than we did
when we started.

Based on our experience 
with acting on the basis of what
we think we know
and what the outcome was,
allowing our outcomes to guide us
into the questions
that deepen/expand our experience,
and lead to greater knowing. 

Like a good scientist would do.

01

If you wonder what I believe,
and what I believe you ought to believe,
it's simple:
I believe,
and believe we all ought to believe,
that it matters how we live.

That's almost it as far as believing goes.
It has a corollary:
I believe we all ought to find 
what is ours to do and do it.

That's all there is to it.

What are you good for?
What is your specialty?
Your shtick? 
The things you love to do?

How often do you do them?
For how long?

Everything about us and our life
comes down to, 
revolves around,
finding our life and living it
within the context and circumstances
of our living.

If you think that's easy,
climb down on its back
and tell them to open the chute.
See if you can go the full eight seconds.
See if you still remember who you are
after one second.

I'm betting not.

It's the old Taoist/Zen
(And Zen is what happened to Buddhism
when it met Taoism)
question,
"What is the face that was yours
before your grandparents were born?"

That's long before things started messing with you.

Who have you always been before the beginning?

You are the only one of you there is,
ever has been,
ever will be.
You really ought to be making the most of it.
Showing your stuff. 
Finding and being who you are.
You've wasted enough time as it is.

Of course, it actually isn't a waste at all.
It got you where you are,
here, now.
All that has gone on before
is like priming the pump.
Preparing you for the Big Stage.
Or better,
preparing you to being prepared 
for the Big Stage.

This is where you come in.
Your place from now on is to live
mindfully aware of you--
of what is you and what is not you.
Only you know that.
And it's time for you to know what you know,
and to live in light of it,
between the you you are
and the you your situation in life
is requiring you to be.

You have to work it out.
How much for you
and how much for your sitz im leben.
That's the question that will
"Fill your heart brim-full,
and break it, too" (William Alexander Percy).

That is the question that will introduce
you to what I call
the Eden/Gethsemane axis,
with the Garden of Eden being the face
that was ours before we (or our grandparents were) born,
and Gethsemane being the way back to it.

We pay a price to be who we are.
And we pay a price to not be who we are.
Which price are we going to pay
is the question.

And our answer to the question
starts with our finding our life 
and it is answered by how we live it.

My idea about the place of the church
in our life
is that it ought to throw away all 
of its theology and doctrine,
catechisms and hymn books
(Books of doctrine set to music),
and start helping people find their life
and live it.

Until it does, we are on our own.
We create our own "churches"--
I call them "Communities of Innocence."
Innocent in the sense that they have 
nothing to gain from us,
with no agenda to serve
and exist only to assist us in the work
of being who we are,
where we are,
when we are,
how we are,
why we are,
what we are,
for the full eight seconds of the ride.

And at the end,
it will seem to be a lot shorter than that.

–0–

02

Carl Jung said, "There is in each of us
another whom we do not know."

The Other Within is a psychic reality
for all of us.

Projected outward as "other than us,"
this Other Within 
has always been called "God"--
which goes back 5,000 years or so,
and may find confirmation in Julian Jaynes'
book, "The Origin of Consciousness
in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind."

The Other Within is constantly responding
to our environment
with urges, feelings, compulsions, "red flags,"
moods, symptoms, dreams, instinctive actions,
intuitive notions, etc.

And our ideal relationship with this side
of ourselves
is a collaborative "meeting of the minds,"
where we consult the Other,
and develop our ability to read the Other,
in a joint partnership 
that guides our boat on its path
through the sea.

The fundamental, essential, Way we are to follow
is that of seeing what's what
and what needs to be done about it
in each situation as it arises
with the gifts/daemon/specialties/shtick/etc.
that come with us from the womb,
doing what needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
where it needs to be done,
the way it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done,
with nothing to be gained from it
beyond the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it.

We meet all of the ebbs and flows of life
from the orientation of 
taking what comes and doing
what can be done with it,
trusting that we have what it takes
to find what we need
to do what needs to be done
in conjunction with the Other Within
all our life long.

Absent from this scenario 
is any concern for our profit,
our gain,
our benefit,
our advantage,
our wealth,
our privilege,
our good at the expense 
of the good of the whole.

What is called for here and now?
In light of the true good of the whole?
What does "Thy will, not mine, be done,"
mean to you?

Who is the "Thy"?
It is the good of the whole.
The good of the "more than I."

The "I" "comes not to be served,
but to serve, and to give his/her life"
in the service of the good of the whole.

"The whole" being the family,
the tribe,
the nation,
the world.

In this is the "plan" for the whole of life.

01

My mule and my cow
go with me wherever I go.

I thought it would be cute
to call my mule "Bessy,"
and my cow, "Jake,"
but they would have none of it.

"I will be Bessy,"
said the cow.
"And make mine Jake,"
said the mule.

And that's how I got Bessy and Jake.

Bessy and Jake are metaphors
of who I am really.
They remind me of that,
and keep me grounded
in the reality of my original nature.

As long as I do not stray too far
from "the farm,"
I can find my way
through whatever comes my way.

Everything I do effects
my balance and harmony,
and my energy, spirit and vitality.
Bessy and Jake monitor those things
and keep me in touch with them.

Being reminded of my background,
remembering the farm,
I am centered in who I am
and live to maintain my contact with that
through the ebbs and flows
of time and chance,
in a "Okay, now what?" kind of way.

When we are in accord 
with our original nature
and displaying "the face that was ours
before our grandparents were born,"
and aligned with the Tao of time and place, 
we flow in harmony with our circumstances, 
in tune with energy, spirit and vitality.

When we try to find our way
through the wasteland
of wondering where 
our advantage lies,
what's best for us
short term and long term,
and how to avoid the losses
and secure the gains,
through all the oughts and musts,
past the bribery and extortion,
distractions and diversions
of life away from the farm,
our original nature
and our grounding orientation
are the first things to go.

It helps to have your mule and your cow
as traveling companions
to keep you
in touch with the Source
and in sight of the farm.

–0–

02

We stand between our circumstances
and our original nature
and work to integrate,
to balance,
to harmonize,
to steady and stabilize
the mixture of Yin and Yang
in each situation 
as it arises.

That is our work,
our task,
through all eternity.

This is what we are here for.

We make the peace
and serve the unity
of the whole.

Our task is to get the ratios right.

How well we do it tells the tale.

It helps to do it consciously,
compassionately,
with awareness and patience,
looking for what needs to happen
and doing what needs to be done about that,
when it needs to be done,
how it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done,
with nothing but the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it
to motivate us 
in our Sisyphean task
of integrating,
balancing
and harmonizing
Yin and Yang
forever.
And ever, amen,
may it be so! 

–0–

03

Too often, acceptable outcomes
are beyond our control.
This leaves us with accepting the fact
that acceptable outcomes
are beyond our control,
and letting the situation be what it is,
seeking out what needs to be done
about that--
about the fact that we are stuck
with an unacceptable situation 
we can do nothing about.

Now what?

When nothing can happen 
until something else does,
we wait it out.

We are waiting for something to shift
in our circumstances,
or in our attitude about our circumstances.

Nobody move!
Wait for something to shift!
For something to occur to us.
For some light to shine.
For something unimaginable to happen.
For revelation.
For realization.
For motivation...

We have to be where we are
before we can be somewhere else instead.
There are times 
when anywhere else
would be better than this.
When those times are upon us,
anywhere else will do,
at least for the duration.

Heidi-ho!
Here we go!

–0–

01

Disturbance takes countless forms.
The churning chaos of the clashing rocks,
and the heaving waves of the wine dark sea
are the providential prerogatives
of the gods of disturbance, disorder
and instability. 

Theirs is the province of the 10,000 things,
which they wield with relish
and complete abandon
to the dismay and appall of all sentient beings
throughout their time upon the earth.

We cry, "Peace! Peace," but there is no peace,
and seek refuge and succor
in all places high and low,
only to discover that 
"there is no balm in Gilead,"
or in any of the other mirages 
of refuge and retreat worldwide.

The Buddha under the Bo Tree
and Jesus in the wilderness 
turned within
and found the place of quiet rest
to be in the refusal to be moved
by the forces arrayed against them
in a "This, too, this, too. So what? So what?"
kind of way.

Allowing what cannot be done
to point the way to what can be done
about what needs to be done--
in a "Here we are, now what?" kind of way--
leads to the realization
that we can always sit still and be quiet,
and wait to see what stirs to life
in the silence
to suggest a path,
a direction,
and a response of resilience and determination
first articulated by Ulysses in The Odyssey:
"I will persist and endure!
And when the heaving waves
have shaken my raft to pieces,
Then, I will swim!"
   

–0–

02

In light of what do we live?

Our guide through the darkness
and chaos of our life
is our sense of the good--
of what needs to happen
in the time and place of our living
in response to the times--
such as they are--
that are upon us,
surrounding us,
tossing us about
like dust in the wind.

The times define and limit us all,
and it is our place to respond 
to the times that are upon us
by defining ourselves
while staying in touch with the best
that has been and will ever be.

What is that Best that runs through
all times and places?
Paul, writing to the Philippians,
suggested,
"Whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is excellent,
admirable,
and worthy of praise,
strive for these things!"

What are those things?
What have people always said they are?
What do you say they are?
Let those things be your guide,
as you live to emulate,
reproduce,
serve,
exhibit
and express them
in the time and place of your living--
through all of the times
you will be asked to live in and through
during the time you are alive.

Be yourself in the service
of your original nature
and the Good that has always been 
recognized as good
through all the times and places
that people have lived upon the earth,
amid the clashing rocks
and the heaving waves
of the wine dark sea.
 

–0–

03

When we dispense with theology and doctrine,
we are left with our original nature,
our gifts/shtick/specialties/daemon/preferences/interests/etc.
that came with us from the womb,
and with each situation as it arises,
which we read with compassionate awareness,
mining it for what's what,
and what needs to be done about it,
and how we can serve that
by sharing our gifts/etc--
for the joy and gladness of doing it,
and the satisfaction of having done it,
situation by situation,
all our life long.

In so doing,
we would be living
like a dog wags its tail
(Alan Stacel).

01

Reducing complexity, 
removing distractions,
and cutting down the volume
of the Noise Blaster
are the best ways I know of
to assist the recognition of what is happening
and what needs to be done about it,
in order to respond to it
in ways appropriate to the occasion.

When my wife was diagnosed with thyroid cancer,
we did not need a bevy of concerned people
wondering what they could do,
hovering around us,
distracting us from our primary task
of finding our center
and remaining grounded in the work
of coming to terms with how things are now
and finding ways of doing
what needed to be done.

What that was was not
interruptions and inquiries
about how we were doing,
and what was the latest 
word on the impending surgery,
bringing us casseroles and pies,
mailing cards 
and sending flowers...

We needed things to be still and quiet,
in order to collect ourselves
and imagine our way into our present reality,
and how best to respond to it.

The time from diagnosis to surgery
passed naturally, organically,
at its own pace.

No frenzy.
No anxiety--
it is amazing how anxiety is inflamed
by people wondering how we are doing
and wanting to help us feel better.

Feeling better is finding appropriate ways
of responding to the situation.
Intrusive reminders of the impending event
with questions regarding when the date is,
and wanting us to know they were thinking about us,
is not helping us feel better.
It is distracting us from doing 
the necessary adjusting and accommodating
to square ourselves up with a future 
that will be different
from the one we had to square up to
before the diagnosis.

We all flow along with the current of our life,
not just me and my wife,
but all of us.
Every one of us.
Meeting the day each day,
and all that comes with the day,
doing what is called for in response,
allowing "one book to open another,"
and being receptive and open ourselves
to opportunities and possibilities
as they unfurl before us 
and beckon us to see
what treasures they might reveal.

"Yes" is, for me, a more stabilizing,
centering response to life than "No!"

Receiving all things well
puts me in Rumi's Guest House (Googleit)
welcoming all that comes down the lane
in a "This, too. This, too." kind of way.
Seeing what is called for
and bringing it forth,
enlarges us, expands us, deepens us, matures us,
and readies us for the next thing,
and the thing after that--
whatever they may be.

It is all practice, preparation,
for the ongoing work of being who we are
in relation to all that is with us,
here and now--
and the pure wonder and joy of
doing what needs to be done about it,
and the satisfaction of having done it.

We are fine.
Doing well.
And looking forward to the next thing,
and the thing after that,
all the way to wherever we are going to be
when we get there,
just by doing this,
and then that.

The surgeon says it was caught early enough
to mean the only likely disruption
will be adjusting the mixture
of the hormone salad
that comes in the form 
of one pill once a day
for the rest of time
until the ratios are right,
and then keeping them there.

It is never more difficult 
than getting and keeping
the ratios right.

So, we all will be doing pretty much
the same work
for the rest of our lives.
It's good to have your company.

–0–

02

It is easy enough to do better,
for the short term,
but the trick is to do better
for the long term,
without also doing worse.

Doing better without doing worse as well
is tricky enough as it is.
Holding the trick in place over time 
is unheard off.

Doing better without doing worse
would be to do better
without noticing it,
without being aware of it,
without intending it.

It would be doing better
by being better,
for nothing,
for no reason beyond being better.

It would be being better for the hell of it,
for the joy of it,
for the satisfaction or it,
without doing it intentionally,
purposefully,
or grading the degree of your betterness,
and pumping your fists because of it.

Unheard of.
Being better for nothing.
"Just because."

We would have to get to the place
of surprising ourselves,
catching ourselves doing something better
than we used to do it
without intending to do it,
without trying to improve,
yet there we are,
amazingly, undeniably, transformed,
out of the blue.

That's what we are aiming for--
living well without aiming to live well.
Reflecting a turning without purpose,
without intention.

That's what we are after.
See if you can imagine how to do that,
and do it.

Spend the rest of your life doing it.
That would be something.

–0–

03

Joseph Campbell said Native Americans
would tell their children 
when they left home to seek their fortune
in the world,
"As you walk your path, 
you will come to a great chasm. 
You must jump!
It is not as great as it seems."

What I am doing here 
is asking you to jump.
Not just with this post,
but with the body of work.
Everything I say here--
everything I stand for--
requires that you jump!

I talk about leaving God for God--
for The Mystery--
for The Source of Life and Being.

I talk about throwing away theology--
all theology.
About casting aside the doctrines--
all the doctrines.
And put all of your effort
into trusting your heart
and doing what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
no matter what.

You have to JUMP!

01

Be right about what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
and do it.
Situation by situation.
Moment by moment.
Day by day.

That is all there is to it.

But, being right about what needs to be done
is no snap.

We all look at the same situation,
and assess it,
evaluate it,
understand it,
in light of our previous experience
and our individual idea of the good.

And the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor,
and the Americans A-bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
and here we are.

Who thinks those acts were the right things to do
in those situations?

It will not be a unanimous show of hands.

We have different ideas about what is called for
in every situation.
How do we know?
We do not know!
We make our best guess,
and trust our luck.

Sometimes, that amounts to pushing our luck.

We can also try being still and quiet
and trusting our intuition/instincts/heart,
and then trust our luck.

No matter what system we devise
for knowing what needs to be done
in a situation,
we are still going to have to trust our luck.

And that means trusting ourselves
to deal with the next situation arising from this one,
adjusting our approach
and coming up with a different response
to what needs to be done in that situation,
until, over time, we get better 
at reading situations,
and our odds improve,
but they never hit 100% throughout the day
every day.

But, the work remains the same:
Being right about what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
and doing it,
situation by situation, 
moment by moment,
day by day.

Trusting ourselves to get better at it
as we go.

The aim remains the same.
Our ability to hit the target
gets better (we hope) over time.

–0–

02

Everybody is trying to figure things out.
Trying to know what's what
and what to do about it
in light of what that will mean for them
and their life
and/or the lives of those around them.

The people who think they have it figured out
want to tell everyone else how to do it.

All of the so-called "self-help books,"
come down to listening to someone else
tell you how to live your life
because you can't be trusted to figure it out
for yourself--
though they all figured it out for themselves.

The genre should be called
"Let me help you live your life
because I know more than you do."
"Self-help" is quite the misnomer.
"Sit down, shut up, 
and let me tell you what to do" 
is more like it.

Throughout my time "in the pulpit,"
I told the congregations I worked with,
"Listen to me when I tell you,
'Don't Listen To Me! Listen to YOU!'"

We are all on our own here.
We have to learn to trust ourselves
to know what's what and what to do about it
in light of what we determine to be
our best interest
and/or the best interest of those around us.

Everybody has to figure that out for themselves.

It helps to have people to talk 
with about this
who can help us hear what we have to say.
Who can help us hear ourselves think.
Who can serve as sounding boards for us,
and assist us in finding our own way
along the way. 

–0–

03

I don't care what your current situation is,
the way to meet it
is to sit down and be quiet.

Silence and stillness is the solution to every problem.

"Don't just do something!
Sit there!" 

Sitting in the silence
allows the rush of OHMYGOSH
to pour over you.

Sit it out,
feel overwhelmed.
Sit tight,
wait for the shift.
Be aware of your breathing
and watch as your panic/terror/angst
begins to subside.

"All bleeding stops eventually."
Emotionally and physically.

Breathe your way through
the initial shock
and watch how you begin
to collect your fragmented self--
how you begin to come together
before your eyes.

All you have to do is sit still
and watch.

Your mind is a creative force
for regaining your equilibrium,
balance and harmony,
finding your bearings
and putting things into
some semblance of order
in a "Okay, now what?"
kind of way.

It's the old refrain:
"It is all useless, hopeless,
meaningless, futile and absurd--
and that's where we come in!"
Our shtick as a species
is getting through all of the crap
that has been dumped on us as a species
and still be here,
doing our thing.

Our thing is dealing with crap.
It is what we do best.
Look at all we have been through!
We're still here.
Dealing with whatever it is here and now.

So we get our feet under us,
stand up,
look around,
and find what needs to be done next
and do it.

Just don't sabotage your efforts
with the old, "So what? What's the use?
What difference will it make?" whine.
So what if it makes no use, does no good,
has no impact, and nothing comes of it?
Just do what needs to be done next/now!
As though it matters!
The way it needs to be done!

And follow that with the next thing,
and the one after that...
Pretending to care.
Faking it so well that not even you
can tell whether you really care or not!

Looking for what needs to be done
and doing it.

A cup of cool water.
A kind word.
A wink and a smile...

Tending your mule and your cow
in ways that let them know
you are going to care for them
and the three of you together
are going to find a way
of making it together
all the rest of the way.

(Your mule and your cow
are your inner sources of 
nurturing strength and comfort--
your eternal companions on the 
circle of life,
which is a roulette wheel 
of fortune and pain.
Now we are up,
now we are down,
and we are always in the company
of our mule and our cow,
the three of us together on the path,
finding the way, always and forever.)  

–0–

04

We all see differently,
think differently,
evaluate what's happening
and what needs to happen in response differently,
operate out of different motives,
different ideas of the good,
different ends and different means...

We are different within our own family.

When you bring in racial differences,
ethnic differences,
cultural differences,
economic differences,
sexual differences,
religious differences,
language differences...
it becomes amazing in short order
that we can get along at all.

My question is why can't we get along better?
Why do we hold the way we see things, etc.,
against each other?
Why do we hate people who don't 
do it like we think it ought to be done?
Why do we build walls?
And bombs?

What do we think?
That we can get rid of differences?
That we can kill enough of us
to have it all peaceful and tranquil at last?

Why can't we--
why don't we--
start treating everyone really well?
No matter how differently they are from us?

If someone says to us,
"It's people like you
who make people like me
hate people like you,"
why don't we reply:

"Why do you allow us to get 
under your skin like that?
Why don't you stand up to 
our overpowering influence?
Why don't you refuse to be bothered?
Why don't you exhibit your superiority
by treating us with kindness and generosity?
By showing us that you aren't going
to be pushed into hating us?
That you are bigger than that?
Not as stupid as that?
Starting right here, right now?"