|
Today's
quotation:
We spend most of our time and energy
in a kind of
horizontal thinking. We move along the
surface of things
going from one quick base to another,
often with a frenzy
that wears us out. We collect data,
things, people, ideas,
"profound experiences,"
never penetrating any of
them. . . .
But there are other
times. There are times when we stop.
We lose ourselves in
a pile of leaves or its memory. We
listen and breezes
from a whole other world begin to whisper.
James
Carroll
|
|
Today's
Meditation:
"We
lose ourselves in a pile of leaves"--what a marvelous
image this is. For most of the time in our adult
years, we think that losing ourselves in a pile of leaves
is a waste of time and effort, that focusing on something
so "unimportant" takes time that we should spend
collecting data and things. But the time spent
focused on the smaller things in life are the times of
peace, the times of renewal, the times of bringing
ourselves to an entirely new level. These are the
times when we let our cares sink back into a place where
they aren't able to create the tension and the stress that
they normally cause.
Peace
is a wonderful word, a wonderful thought, a wonderful
feeling. The idea of peace is integral to all major
religions, and it's almost universally recognized as one
of the most important goals that we could set for
ourselves. If we can find peace, we can act with
grace and dignity, our decisions become clearer and less
influenced by tension, and we can allow things to happen
to us and around us without losing our composure--and not
because we're in control, but because we're completely
sure that there's no need to be in control.
Collecting
ideas and data is an attempt to be in control, to know
what we "need" to know and do what we
"need" to do. So many of our actions are
motivated by the idea that we're supposed to be "in
control" of ourselves and our lives, yet the only
true control lies in the recognition that we don't need to
be in control. We can lose ourselves in a pile of
leaves or take delight in a long walk or climb a small
mountain, or we can stick to our work or our personal
lives, trying to "make sure" that everything
turns out right--in other words, how we want things to
turn out.
"We
stop. . . . we listen." Four amazingly simple
words that are so difficult to put into practice
sometimes. But learning how to do these two things
can provide us with an inner peace that simply cannot be
attained any other way. We all have the choice, and
it's difficult to imagine anyone choosing stress and work
over peace and equanimity. It's always up to us, and
we can do ourselves a world of good by stopping,
listening, and recognizing the peace of this world.
|
