October 27, 2020 — November 25, 2020
- 10/27/2020 — Monument Valley Sunrise 09/25/2007 — Monument Valley Tribal Park, Utah/Arizona
Reframe the things you are ashamed of–
your liabilities are assets unknown.
Joseph Campbell said,
“Where you stumble and fall,
there lies the treasure!”
Is it a weakness,
or is it a strength?
Is it better to win
or to lose?
Is it more important to see,
or to see that you don’t see?
Etc.
All our dichotomies are false dichotomies.
What we take to be a dead-end
is a threshold to a different kind of outcome.
We are the incarnation of mystery beyond infinite.
And miss the adventure we were born to live
by refusing to trust ourselves to the mystery
in digging for the gold
buried in the rejects and discards.
“Nothing good comes from Nazareth,” you know.
“The stone the builders reject,” you know.
The priceless pearl lost amid
the costume jewelry, you know…
“Reframing” is a synonym for “recognizing,”
for “reclaiming,”
for “redeeming,”
for “realizing,”
for “repenting,”
for “being born again”
…
Seeing what we are looking at
means seeing beyond what we think we see,
means seeing into the mystery,
and throwing ourselves into it
with all our heart,
and soul,
and mind
and strength–
in a “Okay! I’m all in!
Show me what you got
in the time left for living”
kind of way. - 10/27/2020 — Gardenia 02 07/06/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina
Donald Trump is completely responsible
for himself,
and he cannot help being who he is.
Which is something that can be said
about each of us.
We are who we are
because of our refusal to be anything else–
or because of our striving to be something else,
which we also could do nothing about.
We all could be worse than we are,
and better,
but which it will be
is out of our hands.
We live at the mercy of forces
quite beyond us,
and are where we are by the grace
of the journey,
and the timely accidents
that shifted everything into place–
without our knowledge
of anything that was going on.
We think we are free to do as we please,
but we are not free to choose what we please.
We think freedom means doing what we want
with our life,
but we cannot not-want what we want,
or want what we do not want.
We are not free to pick what we will want today
anymore than we can pick what we will dream tonight.
How free is that?
We are bound to our wants
the way the sun is stuck in its orbit.
It is all a mystery–
where it comes from,
where it is going,
how it fits together.
We are a mystery.
Our life is a mystery.
Everything is a mystery.
And we walk past it all
as though it is completely unexceptional,
thoroughly routine,
outrageously boring
and nothing more
than the same old same old. - 10/27/2020 — Persimmons 10/22/2020 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
We cannot help how we see things,
the way we feel about things,
the way we think of things,
and we have never had a motive
that we fully understood.
We do not know why we do what we do,
or what we will do next
(And if we do,
we have symptoms we cannot manage,
and our life is going quite to hell).
We swagger around as though
we are in total control–
or, we are afraid of what
the next minute will bring,
and have no idea of what we will do
about any of it.
Either way, we do not have a clue.
Joseph Campbell said, “The individual
must realize that the grandeur of their being
is that of representing something
larger than themselves–
that they stand for something
that is bigger than they are.
They have to know they are an agent
of something,
and live conscious of being
a presence in the world
as a representative of that thing,
as an incarnation of it
in their daily life–
and they have to know what it is
that they are living to exemplify”
(Or words to that effect).
And, of course, we have no idea
of what he is talking about.
What are we living to exemplify?
What are we the bearers of?
Allow me to make a suggestion:
We are expressive and representative of
The Mystery of Life and Being!
Carl Jung said, “There is within each of us
another, whom we do not know.”
We carry within us unconscious depths
that we dismiss without a thought
about what we are doing.
We live to feed our appetites,
to enjoy our entertainments,
to serve our addictions,
and never consider that we
represent anything more than
our desires and our fears.
We don’t look within
because we know there is nothing there,
or are afraid there is nothing there,
or are afraid there is something there
and it is terrible and out to get us.
It is out to get us, of course,
but in a fulfilling,
enlightening,
amazing
and wonderful kind of way.
We are looking for something
to relieve our terminal boredom with our life,
and the adventure of a lifetime
is a perspective shift away.
We are the embodiment of The Mystery!
And only have to trust ourselves to it
to step into the power,
the tremendum,
the fascinans of the mysterium
every day. - 10/27/2020 — Stumpy Pond 01 10/22/2020 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
We believe in causality.
Cause and effect.
Everything is caused by something.
There are no accidents.
“There is a reason for everything.”
“I think, therefore I think I am.”
Things do not have to be the way they are.
The world would be fine
if World War II had never happened.
Nothing has to happen
in order for something else to happen.
Whatever happens will be fine.
Nothing is in charge.
There is no design.
Everything is free to be what it is,
doing what it does,
in conjunction with everything else
being free to be what it is,
doing what it does,
and the limits and restrictions
will work themselves out,
and be what they are.
In the beginning there were a lot
of collisions while things were looking
for smooth and easy.
It is smoother and easier than it was
(Remember how dark it got each night before
we domesticated fire?),
but it still is far from smooth and easy
(And nothing is as boring as smooth and easy).
It is all still working itself out.
Everything is finding its way.
A lot of things are in the way.
Some things have to get out of the way,
or pay the price.
We can find patterns everywhere.
That doesn’t mean anything was “meant to be.”
It means we can find patterns everywhere.
They are caused by our brain’s ability
to perceive relationships
and impose order
in helping us find our way.
Our brain is a meaning-maker!
We see patterns among the stars
and conclude that they had to be placed there
for a reason,
and that where they are when we are born
has dramatic implications for our life.
Jumping to conclusions is what we do best.
No! Kidding ourselves is what we do best!
NO! Telling ourselves what we want to hear
is what we do best!
NO! Shooting ourselves in the foot is what we do best!
…
We are the victims of our own constructions of reality.
We do not just observe the world,
we also interpret our observations
in ways that make them meaningful to us.
And then we go to war over our conclusions.
For instance, we take it on faith
that we are all going to hell
if we don’t believe Jesus saves us
from going to hell
if we believe in him–
and we have to tell everyone
to believe as we do
because we believe Jesus will hold it against us
if we don’t convert the world–
and we are making all of this up!!!
Why do we take that on faith
and not something else instead?
How do we find comfort in a God
who will send anybody to hell?
Who can ever relax around a God like that?
We are making everything up–
why not make up things that are life-enhancing
and mutually beneficial
across the table,
around the world?
We make up Us and Them!
Why not make up WE?!
And find ways together to live together
in ways that improve everyone’s chances
at a life worth living?
Why not see everything, all things,
as a Thou?
Why not identify with all sentient beings?
Adopt, “Inasmuch as you have done it,
or not done it,
to every living thing,
you have done it, or not done it,
to me!”?
Why not do everything we do because
it needs to be done
and not because of what we stand to gain or lose
by doing it?
Why not live the mystery?
And not make up conclusions about it
that have no basis or grounds for being? - 10/27/2020 — Trekker Loop 02 10/22/2020 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
We hear “Follow your bliss,”
and think the Hero’s Journey
is a joy ride.
The bliss is “joyful participation
in the sorrows of the world.”
If you can stand in the tension
of that contradiction,
you have met the only requirement
for the journey.
Joseph Campbell said,
“Where you stumble and fall,
there lies the treasure.”
That doesn’t mean
we roll over and there the gold is!
It means we start digging!
Being a writer
does not mean writing best sellers
with movie contracts attached.
It means writing,
day in and day out,
whether anyone reads your work
or not.
If you write because that is your bliss,
rain or shine,
whether you feel like it or not,
whether you are in the mood for it or not,
whether you want to or not,
whether you “feel it” or not,
for no other reason than because
you are a writer
and writing is what you do
no matter what,
and nothing is going to
knock you off of it,
because you’re a writer.
Write on!
Campbell also said,
“That which you seek
lies far in the back
of the darkest corner
of the cave you most
don’t want to enter.”
Following our bliss
means going into the cave
all the way to the very back
and feeling around in the darkest corner.
It means doing the work!
And it is Real Work!
Sticking with it!
Soldiering through!
But, it is our work–
and that makes all the difference!
No one is forcing us to do it.
We are called to do it
by some mysterious energy/force
calling us away from the pastimes
and entertaining asides,
into the expression/incarnation
of our own depth,
our own heart and soul.
In this, we engage the mystery
at the center of our life,
of all of life,
and know there is a Source beyond us
that is living in us and through us,
guiding our way,
urging us on.
I have been writing from high school on.
This is the 6,305th post of its kind
since 2011.
I don’t know why.
I don’t know where they come from,
or to what end.
and I don’t care.
I sit down because I must,
because of an inner compulsion,
and I would be remiss if I did not,
I would be betraying something
that I consider to be worthy
and deserving of my honor and respect,
reverence and service,
and I have liege loyalty
to the Source of what I write.
I start out with a few words,
maybe a sentence,
that just comes upon me
out of the blue,
and everything flows for there,
with a life of its own.
My job is to come up with the right word
for the occasion.
And I write to be amazed at what I’m writing.
That is Mystery!
Where does all this come from?
From the darkness and the silence
of my unconscious!
That is our bliss station!
And we are wrong to not open ourselves
to what beckons to us from what we call
our “unconscious mind”
(Simply because we are not conscious of it!)!
The journey to the heart of ourselves
awaits us all,
and it is never too late
to begin the never-ending process
of self-discovery
along the Bliss Road
that runs through the time left for living. - 10/28/2020 — Little River at the Sinks 11/04/2006 Oil Paint Rendering — Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Liberty, Justice, Equality, Truth
are the grounding values of the Constitution
and the Declaration of Independence.
They are the heart of the Sermon on the Mount,
the parables of the Prodigal’s Father
and the Good Samaritan.
They are the center of the 8 Fold Path
and the 4 Noble Truths of Buddhism.
And, they are the Boon the Hero retrieves
from their journey into the depths of the Psyche
to find what we ultimately are all about
and bring it to life in the life
they are living in the world.
We cannot do better than
Liberty, Justice, Equality, Truth.
They are the end to
Racism, Sexism, Misogyny,
Xenophobia and Homophobia.
And, they are the essence
of who we are as individuals
and as a community of like-minded people.
It doesn’t matter what we believe,
who we are,
how much money and power we have,
or what we say is important to us–
if we do not live in the service of
Liberty, Justice, Equality and Truth,
we have failed to embrace our calling
and live out our destiny
as human beings sharing a planet
with one another.
If we are white and privileged
(And what white person is not privileged?),
it is incumbent upon us to live
beyond the appearance of impropriety
in these four areas
of Liberty, Justice, Equality, Truth.
We must live so that we never feel the need to say,
“Oh, I am not racist, sexist, a misogynist, xenophobic
or homophobic,”
because those things are being said about us
by all who know us.
Liberty, Justice, Equality, Truth
bond us together,
call us forth,
inform our living,
comprise our life.
We owe it to ourselves
and to each other
to live together in ways
that serve, honor, revere and incarnate
Liberty, Justice, Equality, Truth–
and oppose with deliberate vigilance
all threats to these core values
of humanity
in all times and places
throughout our life. - 10/27/2020 — Lake Crandall 02 10/22/2020 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
The Hero’s Journey is to the heart of who we are.
There, we find the essence of our Original Nature.
We discover the wonder of the Mystery of Life and Being.
We relish and revere the Silence
as the source of our own healing and wisdom.
We embrace our calling and our destiny
as servants of truth
integrating polarities,
bearing the tension of contradiction,
taking up the tasks of balance and harmony,
and doing what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises
with the gifts/daemon/virtues/character/vitality/spirit
that are ours to offer
in each situation as it arises
all our life long–
without thought of profit or gain,
benefit or advantage,
but with compassion,
sincerity
and spontaneity,
dancing with what life brings us
and being source of goodness and mercy,
moment-by-moment,
day-by-day,
“participating joyfully in the sorrows of the world”
(James Joyce/Joseph Campbell),
and being a blessing upon all
who come our way.
May it be so for us all! - 10/27/2020 — Eno River Reflections 01 11/09/2011 — Eno River State Park, Durham, North Carolina
I trust you to know your own business,
to know what moves you,
to know what is yours to do and to not do,
to know what calls your name,
to know what you need and where to find it,
to know what is striving to come forth
through you into your life
and into the world.
And, if you think you do not know these things,
I encourage you to sit quietly
and receive what occurs to you
with compassion and grace,
and without judgment or opinion. - 10/27/2020 — Lake Crandall 15 10/22/2020 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
The face that was ours before we were born
is our Original Nature,
which is who we are when there is no one to please,
or impress,
or oppress,
or dominate,
or constrain.
When there is nothing to lose
or to gain,
and we have no stake in the situation
and no reason to wear any other face
than the one that was ours before we were born.
That is the who we are to be
everywhere,
anywhere,
all the time,
for all time.
What keeps that from happening?
Why not be who we are?
Sit quietly with the question,
and receive what occurs to you
with compassion and grace,
and without judgment or opinion.
Be the mirror
reflecting you to you,
and live self-transparently
throughout the time left for living. - 10/27/2020 — Five Geese
Jesus can’t do anything for us
that we can’t do for ourselves.
Jesus has only one thing to say to us:
“Be who you are
the way only you can be who you are,
the way I am being who I am.
Don’t allow anything to keep you from being you
the way I am being me.
Not fear.
Not desire.
Not duty.
That is all I have to say.” - 10/27/2020 — Sumac 02 10/28/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land South Carolina
In any Now,
we do not know What’s Next.
In attempting to soothe our anxiety,
take control of the moment
and arrange What’s Next,
we remove ourselves from
the flow of Tao–
which is the flow of time (kairos)
and place (dharma),
upset the dispensation of Grace
and Synchronicity,
and operate as a rogue predator
in the here and now of our living.
Better to live aligned with ourselves,
standing on the ground that grounds us,
attuned to the moment,
waiting for the time to act
in the service of what needs us to do it,
spontaneously moving in synch
with what is called for,
with no concern for what is in it for us,
and nothing at stake in the outcome–
moment-by-moment-by-moment. - 10/29/2020 — Moonrise 10/17/2013 02 — Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Ocracoke Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina
What is the most meaningful thing in your life?
Sit with it.
Walk around it.
Look at it.
Poke it.
Prod it.
Turn it over.
Get to the bottom of it.
Ask all of the questions
that beg to be asked
of it,
about it.
Say all of the things
that cry out to be said
about it.
To it.
When did it first become meaningful?
What brought it to your attention?
Who is responsible for getting you
together with it?
What has it brought to life in your life?
How do you honor it?
How much time do you spend with it–
in a day?
A week?
A month?
A year?
When is the last time you spent time with it?
In what ways does it define you?
Reflect you?
Express you?
Incarnate you?
What does it show you about yourself?
What does it say about who you are?
What does it ask of you?
Who have you become because of it?
Write a letter to it,
saying all of the things you have to say.
Then, write a letter to you from it,
as though you are taking dictation–
do not think about what to write,
just write what needs to be written,
“automatic writing,” it is called,
saying all of the things
it has to say to you.
What does this reflection open up for you?
Where are you being led?
Where will you go from here?
Do not analyze it.
Do not critique it.
Do not examine it.
Do not explain,
defend,
excuse,
understand it.
Go there!
Do what is being asked of you!
Say “YES!” to what is calling you!
NOW! - 10/29/2020 — 22-Acre Woods 10 10/28/2020 Panorama — Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
We begin to die
when we stop singing,
dancing,
telling,
listening to,
and being enchanted by,
stories,
spending time with,
and being comforted by,
“the sweet territory of silence”
(Angeles Arrien).
There is a difference
that is more than a difference
(Like a train wreck
is different from a burp)
between being driven by an agenda
and being led
by the soft whispers of our soul.
We live these days from our head.
It used to be,
in the days long gone,
that we lived from our heart.
We have been cut off from our heart
for generations,
and it shows
in the emptiness of our eyes
and the shallowness of our desires
and the impulsive jerkiness of our life.
Maybe this!
Maybe that!
Maybe that over there!
We are all over the place
looking for it,
whatever “it” is,
we don’t know,
but “this” isn’t it.
We know that much.
What would it take?
We don’t know.
We just know that something isn’t right
somehow.
We just want to be happy,
as though happiness is something
to be acquired
as a by-product
of the things we buy and do
to make us happy,
and if we are happy,
things must be right
about us and our life.
Right?
Wrong!
Happiness is no indicator
of a life well-lived.
A life well-lived is not attuned
to happy/not-happy.
It has other things on its mind.
Seeing and doing what is called for
here and now,
for instance.
Listening for the gentle whispers
of soul,
for another.
We don’t have time to assess our
current degree of happiness
when we are living in the service
of heart and soul.
Then, we are busy taking care of business
in the business of being alive.
How to get from here to there:
It’s my favorite Joseph Campbell quote:
“That which you see lies far back
in the darkest corner
of the cave you most don’t want to enter.”
The Hero’s Journey is simply the shift
in perspective from where we are now
to the center of our heart.
But.
That requires the complete transformation
of our relationship with our life.
Meister Eckhart said,
“The greatest and last leave-taking
is leaving God for God.”
I say that the next leave-taking in line
is leaving our life for our Life.
And that is why things are as they are
everywhere we look. - 10/30/2020 — Flying North — From my Symbols of Transformation Collection
Angeles Arrien said that if we pronounce “intimacy”
slowly, emphasizing each syllable,
we get:
In
To
Me
See.
How many people
are we willing to
present ourselves to
on that basis?
Including ourselves?
We like the idea of intimacy
without vulnerability.
Which generally means having sex
with nothing on the line.
Because we don’t want anyone
to know who we are,
especially ourselves.
Well.
It all begins with seeing
what we look at
when we look in the mirror.
We cannot let an act
or an inclination
go by without examination,
exploration
and awareness,
awareness,
awareness!
We cannot be unknown unto ourselves!
The first law of spiritual development is
“Thou Shalt Be Transparent To Thy Self!”
Self-transparency is the foundation,
the impetus
and the goal
of the Hero’s Journey.
Which comes as bad news to those
whose first line of defense
is to not-know what we are doing.
We have to look until we see,
listen until we hear,
inquire until we know and understand
what we are doing,
and what that reveals/expresses
about who we are.
We can complete the Hero’s Journey
without ever leaving home. - 10/30/2020 — Flying South — From my Symbols of Transformation Collection
We are constantly creating momentum,
forming Karma
by what we care about
and don’t care about
in each moment as it unfolds before us.
We have to live as though we care
about what needs to be cared about
whether we care about it or not.
Living as though we care
is the most important skill
to develop and apply
throughout our life.
A.A.’s slogan captures the essence
of what we are about:
“Fake it until you make it!”
If you get living as though you care down,
no one can tell whether you care or not–
and it won’t matter.
Caring shapes your life
around what matters most.
Living as though you care
shapes your life
around what should matter most.
Either way, we are all better off
by the way you live your life.
Everybody should know by now
what a healthy lifestyle consists of:
No alcohol.
No tobacco.
No drug abuse.
A diet with enough nuts, fruit and vegetables,
low sugar and low fat.
Regular exercise.
Silence.
Creativity.
Reading.
Singing.
Dancing.
Play.
Living as though we care about a healthy lifestyle
transforms the way we live.
Living as though we care about other people
transforms the way life is lived around us.
Before you know it,
the world is a better place
because we are relating to it
as though we care!
We don’t have to be sincere
if we fake it well enough!
No one will ever know,
and everyone will benefit.
So, get in there and do your thing
as though doing so is the most important thing
in your life!
Whether it’s real or not
won’t matter at all,
and the impact will be both
real and everlasting!
Fake it like you mean it!
And all will be as well as possible,
which is a lot more than could
otherwise be said! - 10/30/2020 — Lake Crandall 12 10/22/2020 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
We cannot allow ourselves to live
haphazard lives.
We have to “run a tight ship”
from start to finish–
from beginning to take up
the work of finding our life and living it,
to our last breath along the way.
A “tight ship”
is a disciplined life.
A life lived around,
and based on,
rituals and routines,
a specific “order of the day,”
and regular,
recurring,
practices and procedures.
We don’t fall into doing
what we feel like doing
when we feel like doing it.
We do what needs to be done
when it needs to be done
in light of the situations
and circumstances
that develop “of themselves”
in a day.
We live a structured life
within a fluid,
fluctuating,
unstable,
volatile
and unpredictable environment.
It is our way of maintaining
our balance and harmony,
our stability and security,
our vitality, life and spirit
in a world of clashing rocks
and heaving waves on wine dark seas.
And it is up to each of us
to ground ourselves in regular routines
that connect us with the Source of life and being
in ways that nothing can dislodge or threaten
throughout the time left for living. - 10/30/2020 — Adventure Road 06 10/28/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
The heroic task is living out
of our own center
within the context
and circumstances
of our life.
Jesus did that.
The Buddha did that.
Gandhi did that.
Eleanor Roosevelt did that.
Dolly Parton is doing that.
…
The list is long.
But not long enough.
It needs our names
among the others.
Angeles Arrien (Whose
name is on the list),
said that all the people who have ever lived
have been/are distinguished,
unique,
and set apart from each other
by their fingerprints,
their voice frequencies,
and the color patterns of their eyes.
No two of us are alike.
Not even “identical” twins and triplets.
What is with the homogenization of the species?
Why the push to be like everyone else?
To spend our life following the other cows
from the barn,
to the pasture
and back to the barn?
To think like everyone else,
believe like everyone else,
see like everyone else
and be a clone of the cultural ideal,
cut off from our heart
and stepping carefully
in the black cutouts of shoe prints
laid out for us by Those Who Know Best?
Who knows better than you and I
what is ours to do,
and when and how we need to do it?
Who can hear better than us
the quiet nudges and soft whispers
of our heart and soul?
We betray our genetic makeup
when we fall in line
and march in step.
We violate our sacred summons
to come forth
and exhibit the
gifts/daemon/character/virtues/spirit/vitality
that are unique to us
when we “conceal our light
under a basket”
and refuse the challenge
to “judge for ourselves what is right.”
We have a role to play,
a place to fill,
that are unique to us,
and it is incumbent upon us
to find and live
the life that is ours to live
within the context and circumstances
of our time upon the earth. - 10/30/2020 — Sanskrit Peace 03 — From my Symbols of Transformation Collection
The Hero’s Journey is about
seeking the source of who we are
in the work of reclaiming our Original Nature
and uncovering what is deepest,
truest
and best about us.
It is a psychological journey of discovery,
requiring us to work with our dreams,
engage our fears and desires,
and our obligations to our place in society,
our duty to our country
and to one another.
In completing the journey,
we will have to come to terms
with our contradictions,
dichotomies
and polarities,
square up with the realities that restrict
and limit us,
and deal with the difference between
metaphorical truth and factual truth.
Our task is to bring ourselves back to life–
as in rebirth/resurrection/renewal–
by embracing the Self
at the center of ourselves,
and returning to our place
in the world of ordinary,
apparent,
reality,
in full possession of the gifts/daemon/virtues/character/spirit/vitality/balance/harmony
that are ours to incarnate
and to share
as a blessing and a grace
and a grounding presence
in the lives of others.
We are the treasure we find,
the boon we recover,
and are glad to offer ourselves
as healer,
teacher,
helper
and guide
to all who may benefit
from our experience
and our life. - 10/31/2020 — Goodale 18 11/04/2018 Panorama — Goodale State Park, Camden, South Carolina
My idea of the Anima
has nothing to do with sex
and everything to do with life.
I am to be the best woman
I am capable of being,
and must be in order to be fully alive.
I cannot be the best man
I am capable of being
until I can be the best woman
I am capable of being.
I bring the two together–
Animus and Anima–
merging,
blending,
uniting,
integrating
the two into one,
and giving birth
to the miracle of life,
“pouring over,
spilling out,”
in the process,
as a by-product,
a second-thought,
an accident of,
well,
birth.
The same goes for you,
and you,
and you…
I do not know a woman
who is being the best woman
she is capable of being–
much less a man.
I do not know a man
who is being the best man
he is capable of being–
much less a woman.
And, consequently, I don’t know
of a woman who is being the best man
she is capable of being,
or a man who is being the best woman
he is capable of being.
We all settling for being much less
than we are capable of being–
and that is the Original Sin.
Which is also the Unforgivable Sin,
the Unpardonable Sin,
and creates a little bit of hell
wherever we go.
The way out is clearly
the way of becoming who we are,
androgynous human beings,
male and female,
united within,
as the best male and best female
we can be.
It will take some work,
but I am confident that we can pull it off.
It will take shedding ourselves
of the “hard values,”
and bringing forth/immersing ourselves
in the “soft values”
(With values becoming virtues/characteristics
in the process).
The things we shed are things like
domination,
power,
privilege,
profit/gain/advantage/contrivance
at any price…
The things we bring forth are things like
life,
instinct,
intuition,
integrity,
sincerity,
compassion,
good faith,
awareness,
kindness,
gentleness,
peace,
and the kind of presence
that makes all things good…
Get the idea?
Get to work! - 10/31/2020 — Lake Crandall 10 10/22/2020 — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill South Carolina
Is this the best we can do?
If not, why not?
If so, who are we kidding?
What would it mean to do better?
Be better?
Get better?
What would constitute improvement?
What is keeping us from improving?
What is our idea of who we need to be?
What do we need?
I think we have no idea of who we need to be.
No idea of what we need.
And, we get in our way
of our getting better
by having ideas of what better would be.
If we only sit down and shut up,
our life will do the rest,
delivering us into the next thing we need
at exactly the right time,
shocking us with its precision
and its idea of what we need to do
to be who we need to be.
We are on a journey
that can be completed
by realizing we don’t know where we are going
and it is never going to end–
which relieves us of all responsibility
except that of looking and listening,
and and being right
about what is being called for,
and doing it
in each situation as it arises,
without worrying about where it is going.
Show up moment-by-moment-by-moment.
Pay attention to what has heart and meaning.
Speak the truth with compassion,
and without judgment.
Do what needs to be done
with no attachment to the outcome,
and nothing at stake,
nothing to gain and nothing to lose.
And don’t take anything
more seriously than it deserves.
These are things anybody can do
at any stage of life,
regardless of conditions,
context
or circumstances,
allowing their life
to take it from there. - 10/31/2020 — 22-Acre Woods 07 10/15/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
Trust yourself to your life!
Do not strive to force it to be
what it has no business being!
All of our problems
are brought on
by willing what cannot be willed.
By trying to have what doesn’t belong
in our life.
By trying to get rid of what does belong.
By having no idea
of the destiny that is ours to live,
and no interest in fulfilling a destiny
that isn’t what we wish it were.
We cannot dial up “Happy.”
We cannot arrange “Meaningful.”
We cannot produce “Perfection.”
The harder we work to arrange
the life of our dreams,
the further we drift
from the life
that is our life to live.
We get back to the beam
by stopping, looking, listening,
seeing, hearing, knowing, understanding,
realizing, perceiving, awakening,
and changing our relationship
with our life.
We are not the director.
The choreographer.
The conductor.
The One In Charge.
We are a liege servant
pledging filial loyalty
and allegiance
to The One Who Knows within.
How do we know what The One Who Knows knows
is the question that defines,
forms
and shapes our life
from this time forth
and forevermore.
We start by trusting ourselves to our life,
and allowing instinct and intuition
to lead the way
moment-by-moment,
sensing what is called for
and doing what needs to be done
with sincerity
and spontaneity–
and without contrivance–
and seeing where it goes.
Like the wind that blows where it will,
we do not know what we will be doing next.
Ours is but to live with the wind in our hair,
enjoying the ride! - 10/31/2020 — Trekker Loop 04 10/22/2020 –Anne Springs Close Greenway, Adventure Road Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Our life is a compromise among competing,
contrary,
contradictory,
opposing,
forces/interests–
and we have to work things out
moment-by-moment.
It is our place in our life.
Our role to fill.
Our part to act.
We integrate the polarities
and maintain the tension
among those that cannot be integrated.
We make it work
as well as it can work,
within the givens
and the needs
converging and clashing
in each here and now,
choosing from among our choices
and determining
where we go from here, now.
How well we do that
tells the tale.
It helps if we have no interests
of our own to serve,
but only the true good of the whole,
with all things taken into account
from all sides
on every dimension,
and everything riding on the outcome. - 10/31/2020 — Hickory Tree 01 10/24/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
We can expect/demand too much of our life.
Lowering our standards
can improve things immensely.
Giving life a break,
cutting life some slack,
giving life a fresh start,
with fewer shoulds-oughts-musts
to deal with
would be a good move.
Life has a hard job.
Seeing that a world full of people
are pleased with their context
and circumstances
would wear anyone down.
“It’s not fair!”
How many times does life hear that
in a day?
and “Why ME?”
Life could use a holiday.
A day with no moaning,
complaining,
whining,
remonstrating,
sighing,
pouting,
slamming doors
or throwing the car keys…
Maybe we could take life to lunch
and talk about all the things
we like about the way things are.
A little compassion for life,
isn’t asking too much,
given the amount of heat life takes
on an average day. - 11/01/2020 — Earthshadow 10/30/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina
When Angeles Arrien says,
“Everybody wants to have their way,”
she is saying,
“Everybody needs to grow up.”
The Terrible Two’s is where this all begins.
Everything would be fine
if we only had our way–
and we know how that sounds,
so we tack on
“once in a while”
to take the edge off of
our terminal self-centered-ness,
which is the same thing as
our terminal immaturity
as individuals
and as a species.
People of every culture
and of every religion in every culture
have always projected their
infantile fantasies onto
their idea of heaven,
where they will be guaranteed
of having their way at last.
The Hero’s Journey is the wake-up call
to our whining and complaining.
The Path that has to be our own path
is nothing more than the way to
maturity and grace.
The Hero’s Journey is growing up
and assuming responsibility for
our own life
and sacrificing our way
for the true good of the whole–
in the manner of those who
“come not to be served but to serve,
and to give their lives to the work
of setting others free from themselves
so that all might be here
for the good of the whole.”
Nothing is ever wrong with us
that growing up some more, again,
wouldn’t help. - 11/01/2020 — 22-Acre Woods 08 10/25/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
In the gospels of Matthew and Mark,
Jesus says contradictory
and mutually exclusive things.
In Matthew 12:30, it is like this:
“Those who are not with us
are against us.”
And, in Mark 9:40, it is like this:
“Whoever is not against us is with us.”
Leaving us in the lurch,
wondering, “Which way IS it?”
This is the absurdity
of a rule-based system
governing relationships.
There are no static,
rigid ways of structuring communities
or societies.
The truth is that how we live together
comes down to good faith among us,
and how we individually read a situation
and respond to it.
“Sometimes, it is like this,
and sometimes, it is like that.”
When is it what,
and how do we know?
We decide.
It may be this way in this moment
and that way in the next.
Equitable,
fair
and just
have to even out over time–
and that is achieved through
awareness and good faith,
around the circle,
across the table,
but it may not be our turn
as often as we think
it ought to be.
The catch, of course,
is with “good faith.”
Good faith is beyond the bounds
of rules and laws.
Rumi said,
“If you aren’t here with us in good faith,
you are doing terrible damage.”
Sincerity,
authenticity
and good faith
are the things upon which
relationship depends.
And they cannot be forced
or contrived.
And that’s the plaque in the veins. - 11/01/2020 — Sumac 01 10/28/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
What is this moment in our day
asking of us?
What is this time and this place in our life
asking of us?
Sit quietly!
Listen!
Feel in your body
what this moment in your day,
what this time and place in your life,
are asking of you,
are calling for.
Learn to read the moment
and the times and places of your life–
not to exploit them
or to profit from them,
but to know what is being called for,
what they need from you.
Sincerity and non-contrivance
are the ways
of those who do not come to be served
but to serve–
without an eye out for gain or reward.
The thing is to be completely free
to offer what is needed
without strings attached
or hope for some advantage.
Walking freely and unmoved
by hope of personal benefit
into each moment,
in to all times and places,
puts us at the fulcrum,
the pivot point,
of those moments/times/places,
and positions us to lever the present
into a future that is exactly
what is needed for that present place and time.
This is to have an impact for the good
for no reason.
It is being good for nothing.
That kind of boon is the hope of the world. - 11/02/2020 — Steele Creek 01 11/01/2020 Panorama, an iPhone Photo — I took this handheld with the Spectre Long Exposure App — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Lake Haigler Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
There are no shortcuts to eternal life.
“The shortest way through
is the long way around!”
The “circumambulation of the self”
is what Carl Jung called
the Hero’s Journey.
We are all on the path
to the Truth at the heart of who we are.
to the “face that was ours
before our parents were born.”
As we approach the point
of full realization,
and quite some time before we arrive,
we will understand that
the Truth at the heart of who we are
is also the Mystery at the heart
of who we are.
Truth is Mystery.
Mystery is Truth.
And that’s the Truth.
And we cannot hurry things along.
Things plod along as though
they have all the time in the world.
They do.
Everyone who knows
knows the same thing
in every generation.
Lao Tzu said a thousand years
before Jesus was born,
“The Tao that can be said/told/explained
is not the eternal Tao.”
He was saying “Truth is Mystery,
Mystery is Truth.”
500 years later, the Buddha said the same thing.
500 years later, Jesus said the same thing.
The Christ is born in every generation
and says the same thing–
and this has been going on from the first generation,
and will go on to the last generation.
Things plod along as though they have
all the time in the world.
They do.
They must.
Because they are taking us
where we do not want to go,
and we resist and oppose,
snarl and snort,
buck and bite
all along the way.
The only way to speed up the process
would be to see from the start,
but that’s the reason for the process.
We refuse to see from the start,
saying, “What’s to see that I don’t already see?”
Trump (and his ken) thinks he sees.
But he doesn’t see what I see.
I think I see, but I don’t see what the Buddha saw.
The Buddha thought he saw…
The Christ thought he saw…
There is always more to be seen
than is seen,
that is why it is called
“The Mystery at the Heart of Life and Being.”
The Mystery is unending and everlasting,
and we will never get to the end of the journey.
There is always more to see
than has been seen.
More to know than has been known.
And always something calling us to do it
in each situation as it arises.
And all we have to work with is
right here, right now.
“So get in there and do your thing,
without looking for profit, recognition,
or reward!”
After all, what’s beyond seeing to want?
There is only more seeing
for as far as we can see.
See? - 11/02/2020 — Pink Camellia 01 11/01/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina
I do not know if life was invented
to facilitate/enable/assist/speed up seeing,
but,
I am quite confident
that if we live long enough
we all will see all there is to see at last.
Everything becomes clear in time.
We all see what is to be seen eventually.
If we live long enough.
This is a safe hypothesis
because no one can live long enough
to test its validity.
We all die–no matter how long we live–
before we see even half
(Okay one half of one percent)
of all there is to see.
Yet, we all parade around,
thinking we see what we look at,
thinking we know what we are doing.
We don’t even see ourselves seeing!
We don’t even see what we are doing!
A lot of us will not live long enough
to see that we don’t see!
Much less, to see what there is to see!
Much less, to see all there is to see!
So, if life was invented to facilitate seeing,
you gotta believe that that before life
things were dark indeed.
Gives me pause to consider
what that means for after life.
If life is the place of seeing,
we better be sitting quietly more often
for longer periods of time,
looking within,
because that is were seeing begins. - 11/02/2020 — Nation Ford Road 11/01/2020 — The Nation Ford was a ford across the Catawba River and this is a portion of the road that led to it. First a Native American footpath, it became the highway for all west-bound traffic during the early American expansion years. — Anne Springs Close Greenway, Lake Haigler Access, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Take what you get
and do what you can with it–
in light of all things considered,
particularly what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises.
Don’t let your chances stop you
or even slow you down!
“Get in there and do your thing”
no matter what–
in light of what “your thing”
has to offer the present moment.
Our only interest/concern is to be
true to ourselves
within the time and place,
conditions and circumstances,
of our living.
Do not think of achievement,
accomplishment,
advancement,
advantage,
success,
profit,
gain,
or winning.
Live to be who you are,
doing what you do best
with what you have to work with,
right here, right now.
No one can do more than that ever!
And we can always do it.
Don’t let anything stop you
from doing it!
Ever! - 11/02/2020 — Peaks of Otter 02 10/29/2019 — Blue Ridge Parkway, Bedford, Virginia
Sincerity and non-contrivance are one thing,
and combine with compassion
to produce an environment conducive to
life,
living
and being alive.
There are not enough sources
of sincerity/non-contrivance and compassion
in my life or yours,
or in the entire world.
It is more like
snatch and grab
and to hell with you
wherever we look.
Plop sincerity/non-contrivance and compassion down
in the middle of that
and you get the Buddha,
and Jesus,
Gandhi and the Dali Lama,
and all of the people
who have kept hope alive
in the darkest nights
we have lived through
in all the years of our living.
You get people who are remembered
and revered
for making all the difference
in our lives.
It is our calling
to be one of those people.
All it takes
is dedication to the task,
and practice,
practice,
practice. - 11/03/2020 — Black Australian Swans 02 10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
Jesus came reinterpreting everything
that had gone before.
“You have heard it said,”
he said,
“but I say unto you…”
“The old has passed away!
Behold! The new has come!”
How we did it then does not
take precedent over
what is called for now!
With Jesus, what once was the case
is no longer the case,
what we once could assume was so,
can no longer be assumed to be so.
“It’s a new world, Golda!”
We look.
We see.
We listen.
We hear.
We decide what is being called for.
And we respond with the gifts
that are ours to share.
We say what is so,
and act out of our own perspective.
We take the appropriate action
in each situation as it arises,
and are the person responsible
for knowing and doing–
in living our life as it needs to be lived
moment-by-moment-by-moment.
Jesus said,
“You shall know the truth,
and the truth shall set you free.”
The truth is the truth of how things are,
the truth of what’s happening now,
the truth of what needs to be done about it.
Seeing the truth
is being set free
to do what needs to be done about it
with what is ours to offer
in each situation as it arises
as a spontaneous response to the moment
with no thought for what is in it for us,
or for what we stand to gain,
or how we might profit,
or what the advantage to us might be
with this response or that one.
We simply do what needs to be done.
We simply say what needs to be said.
We simply are who we need to be–
who the situation needs us to be–
one situation after another,
day by day,
all our life long.
No one can do better that that.
And it needs to be done all the time. - 11/03/2020 — The Path 10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
I don’t care what happens to us–
how we respond to it
is what matters.
We are built for reversals,
betrayals,
disappointments,
devastations…
If it isn’t the clashing rocks,
it is the heaving waves!
If it isn’t a catastrophe,
it is a calamity.
If it isn’t a disaster,
it is a debacle.
Look at what we have been through
as a species
to be here, now!
What keeps us going???
Whatever it is,
it can be counted on!
It and gravity are the most reliable
things this world has to offer!
And it comes tucked away
in each of us,
to be used as needed
throughout our life
in dealing with circumstances
beyond control,
and events that are completely
out of hand.
There is an adamantine core
running through the human spirit
that is “a very present help
in time of trouble.”
Our original nature
includes resilience and durability.
Grounded upon the rock of our character
and the flexibility of our spirit,
we are more than a match
for the daily deliveries.
It only takes standing on our own two feet
and living out of our center
to know that it is so.
The stream finds its way to the sea.
We have what it takes
to find what it takes
to do what needs to be done
about all that comes our way.
The confidence that this is so
is waiting in the silence
to console and sustain
and call us forth to meet the day. - 11/03/2020 — Tree Pans 02 –10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
Heart and meaning are our guides through the wilderness.
Does it have heart?
Is your heart in this?
Does it have meaning for you?
If things start out full of heart and meaning,
notice if that changes–
not just because things become difficult.
No just because hard things are being asked of us.
Every track asks us to see something through.
A war comes along.
Or someone close to us dies.
Or we have a health crisis.
We have to work through 10,000 opportunities
to quit.
What is it you can’t quit?
I am a writer,
so I write without an audience.
I write to hear myself think.
I write to know what I have to say.
To quit writing would be an immense
betrayal of self.
I take photographs in the same way.
I have to take photographs.
My heart demands it.
Meaning and purpose hang on it.
What do you do “the way a dog wags its tail?”
(Alan Stacell)
Do more of that. - 11/04/2020 — Jordan Pond 01 09/23/2012 — Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
We cannot help how we see things–
anymore than we can help
the color of our eyes,
the tonal range of our voice
or the pattern of our fingerprints.
How we interpret what we look at,
how we make meaning of what we perceive,
in light of what we live–
and why we live in light of that
and not something else instead–
what we revere as important
and disdain as worthless,
what we believe
and what we believe in,
and how all of this reflects who we are,
are things we are no more in charge of than
the dreams we had last night
or the time we spend
reflecting on anything..
We are not our own.
The most we can do is realize that,
and devote ourselves to the lifelong task
of being aware of what moves us to action,
and the type of action we are moved to take–
seeing how we see
and the meaning we make of things,
and wondering what that is about
and where it comes from.
Introspection,
examination,
exploration,
inquiry,
curiosity,
inspection,
seeking to discover who we are
and what we are about,
and how good the good is we call good,
transforms the relationship
we have with ourselves
and all other selves,
opens us to the truth
of what we call “true,”
and carries us to the brink
of the mystery at the heart
of life and being. - 11/04/2020 — Camellia 03 11/01/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina
The people who think about killing themselves
are right about something needing to die,
and wrong about what.
It is not their actual, physical, body
that needs to die.
It is their attitude,
perspective,
point of view,
way of seeing what they look at
and feeling the way they feel
in light of what they believe to be the case
that needs to go.
They do not need to kill themselves!
They need to change their mind about themselves
and their situation in life!
They need to grow up, some more, again!
And that is like dying!
And that is the death to choose to die
whenever you are faced with wanting to die!
Just die to your way of seeing/interpreting/evaluating
your situation!
Change your mind the way your mind needs to be changed,
and live on!
Live on!
Live on! - 11/04/2020 — Sourwood 01 11/04/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
It is simple enough to find the still point–
the fulcrum,
“The still point of the turning world,”
(T.S. Eliot),
the center of our own ground of being,
the Axis Mundi,
the center of the world,
of the universe,
of eternity,
of infinity…
Stand still.
Sit quietly.
There you are.
You are the still point.
We all are.
When we are being still and quiet.
In quest of the Source
from which we come
and to which we return.
The Source is the unknown depth
within each of us,
connecting all of us,
known as the Ātman in Hinduism,
and as the Psyche in psychology,
the Source is the Mystery at the Heart
of Life and Being
in all living things.
We can connect with the Source at any time
simply by standing or sitting quietly,
and opening ourselves to the presence
that is with us always.
Then what?
Then we listen!
And remain alert to whatever arises within.
And respond to it in ways that are appropriate
to the occasion.
The old Taoists held that
the Tao gave rise to the Source (The One),
and the Source gave rise to Yin/Yang (The Two)
And Yin/Yang gave rise to Heaven and Earth
and Humanity (The Three)
and from The Three come everything.
I say that is an interesting theory,
but what can be known
is the presence that is always with us
to comfort and console,
uplift, encourage and enable,
guide and direct.
It only takes sitting or standing quietly listening
to know what I’m talking about. - 11/05/2020 — Sourwood 02 11-04-2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
Alcohol and pot cloud our judgment,
screw with our perception
and mess with our ability
to know what we are doing.
Nothing like being high
for being out of touch,
groundlessly floating in free fall,
laughing at all the colors
and crying over everything.
Critical assessment
and careful evaluation
take a leave of absence,
and we are enthralled by
the curled beauty
of a discarded popped top.
Or shift quickly into being suicidal at
the empty prospects of our life.
Reality becomes a quick change artist
and we become a yo-yo
and have to make ourselves unconscious
just to keep breathing.
Or stop breathing entirely–
there are times it doesn’t matter which.
So the first step
for letting the mud settle
and allowing the water to clear
is De-tox Now!
That’s the hardest one.
Not really.
They are all the hardest one.
That’s the second step.
We Have To Do What’s Hard.
No one can do it for us.
What’s hard is waking up.
Then getting up.
Then facing the day,
and it’s hard all the way.
And we have only taken two steps!
Check that.
We are only taking two steps.
We take all the steps–
and there are many more than 12–
simultaneously all the way
every day.
I don’t think we can do it alone.
That’s the real blessing of A.A.
We know we are not alone.
Standing Up,
Squaring Up,
Facing Up,
To A New Day
And Doing It Sober Again.
That’s still the second step.
If we didn’t extend steps,
we would run out of numbers,
lose count
and have to start over,
and it’s hard enough as it is.
What keeps us going?
The spiritual side of reality.
Being a drunk is a great way
to find that door!
Everybody talks about God, God, God,
but nobody knows God
as the most intimate aspect
of who we are
who hasn’t made that discovery
crawling out of some equivalent of a bottle.
So, I don’t use the word “God.”
It is too crusted over with rusted layers
of theology, doctrine, dogma, creeds, catechisms
and other nonsense
to be of any help to anyone ever.
I use the word “Source,”
as in “The Source,”
to mean what I mean when I say “God.”
The Source is with us always,
right there,
right here,
right now.
Is always glad to see us.
Is always ready to get to work,
seeing, hearing, knowing, understanding
what is happening
and what needs to happen in response,
doing what needs to be done
with the gifts/daemon/genius/spirit/
virtues/character/vitality
that came with us from the womb
in the form of our Original Nature,
which we access from the position of
balance and harmony
that comes from living in accord
with the Tao–
the right way of doing what needs to be done
in each situation as it rises–
and being at one with who we are,
and with how things are,
for the true good of the whole
all our life long.
That’s the Source.
The Source is the source of Yin/Yang,
which are the vital opposites/dualities/contradictions
at the heart of life and being.
They are also called “The Mystery
at the heart of life and being.”
Nothing is more mysterious than the unity–
the oneness–
of the contradictions/dichotomies/polarities/etc.
that comprise our life,
where good is bad and wrong is right,
and the dualities all dance together
like a perfect dance team,
a couple who are two and one at the same time
on a dance floor that could be called Life Itself.
That is the Mystery at the heart of life and being.
Which is the Source.
That keeps us going.
With all of our contradictions dangling
from every pore
daring us to find the courage
to step into another day.
It is possible
to integrate our opposites
after the manner of Rumi’s “The Guest House”
(Googleit),
and take up the challenge
of finding the good in this
terrible, awful, no good, very bad mess
we call our life,
one day at a time. - 11/05/2020 — Swan Lake 01 10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
When we live to integrate our opposites
and express/incarnate/bring forth our original nature–
“the face that was ours before we were born–
our identity,
who we are,
our true self,
and not to get something,
attain something,
have something,
possess something,
dominate something,
win something,
have something to show for having lived…
When we live to serve our life
and live the life that is truly ours to live,
we live sincerely,
authentically,
without striving or contriving
to exert our will upon the earth.
And the trees welcome us,
the meadows and the mountains recognize us
as one who belongs there,
the birds and the wild things
are glad to see us coming,
and we are one with all the world. - 11/06/2020 — Bog River Falls 01 09/29/2014 — Adirondack Park, Tupper Lake, New York, Oil Paint Rendering
It’s been a while since I recommended
Jon Kabat-Zinn’s YouTube Videos,
so here it comes!
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the father of Mindfulness
Based Stress Reduction.
He invented “be here now.”
Not really, but, he has helped
bring “being here now” into the lives
of millions of people worldwide,
and you would be remiss
if you did not avail yourself
of what he has to offer.
So, watch all of his videos–
the shortest ones first.
And bring the regular practice
of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
into your life.
It will make all the difference
in the way you think about your life
and go about living it.
And in these times,
we can use all the help we can find! - 11/06/2020 — The Bridge at the Bottom of the Hill 02 11-05-2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
Where do you turn
when you have nowhere to turn?
It’s a serious question.
What holds you up?
What keeps you going?
What do you live for?
What is life for you?
What is your foundation?
Your ground?
Your center?
What is the rock solid,
adamantine core of your life
which nothing can knock you off of?
Your core certainty/conviction?
The one thing of which you are totally sure?
The one thing around which
your essential identity is eternally bonded?
What object or image reflects or expresses
the essence of your core?
Make or find a surrogate of the object or image
and carry it with you,
or create a sacred place for it to reside
at your home,
to be a constant reminder of what is so,
as a grounding/directing symbol
offering balance and harmony,
guidance and direction
amid the clashing rocks
and heaving waves
of your life. - 11/07/2020 — Sourwood 03 11-04-2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
The people you run with
are your enablers
and your guards,
guaranteeing that you don’t grow
beyond where you are.
They are the status quo keepers,
holding you in place,
ruling out any possibility
of your seeing things other than you do,
or being different than you are.
They limit your choices
and your chances,
and maintaining your present umwelt
exactly as it is forever.
If you want things to change about your life,
your “friends” are the first things
that have to go.
What we all need is a Community of Innocence
whose place in our life is that of a
sounding board,
enabling us to say what needs to be said
and to hear what we are saying
to the point of understanding
what the implications are
and what we need to do about it
in making the changes necessary
to grow into who we are.
A Community of Innocence is innocent
in the sense that it has no ulterior motives,
no hidden agendas,
nothing it wants from us,
or needs of us,
or each other,
beyond sincerity,
authenticity,
and non-contrivance,
so that everyone in the Community
is Thus Come,
is just who they are
and who they are becoming,
and all are supporting one another
in the quest to grow in all phases
of human development,
so that all are maximize
their individual potential
on all levels of life–
becoming who they are
throughout the time left for living.
And they may do this unknowingly.
They may exist as a community
only in your recognition of their place
in your life.
They may never know one another,
but they are Your People in the best sense
of the term.
The process for helping us come forth
is that of simply reflecting us to us
so that we see/know who we are
and who we need to be,
and live to narrow the gap,
even as it expands in all directions
and calls us ever beyond where we are
to all that we are capable of being.
In that there is always
“more to us than meets the eye,”
we are always at the point
of becoming who we are
by being who we are.
In seeing/saying/incarnating/
expressing/exhibiting who we are,
we move beyond who we are
into who we are yet to be.
There is no static way of being.
There is no rigid,
firm and final form of US.
Our identity is being shaped
by our potential all our life long.
We never stop growing,
and that means we never stop growing up.
That can only happen within a Community of Innocence
that has nothing at stake in who we are,
and is only interested in reflecting us to us,
and thereby helping us to become
who we are becoming.
I don’t know you,
but I know you do not have 3 to 5 people
in your life who are assisting
you in the process of your own birthing
in this way.
It is up to you to find them
and let them be for you
your Community of Innocence,
even though they may never meet one another,
or come together for group gatherings,
they are what you need to be who you are
becoming who you are,
and are your sources of life,
and light,
and being. - 11/07/2020 — Camellia 04 11/06/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
Our Community of Innocence
is comprised of the people
around whom it is safe
to be who we are.
They are the people who receive us well,
who regard us kindly–
with compassion and without judgment.
Who listen to us to the point
of enabling us to hear
what we are saying.
They love us as we are
and as we are becoming–
and have nothing at stake,
nothing to gain
and nothing to lose,
in our being who we are
beyond wanting us to be
as aware of ourselves
and of our situation in life–
in our umwelt
(“The world as we perceive it to be”)–
as we can possibly be
at every point in our life.
They believe that seeing is being is doing,
and live to enable everyone to see
what they look at,
and see beyond what they look at
into what needs to be done
in response to it,
which is basically,
enabling the situation
to take itself into account
and adjust what needs to be adjusted
to be what it needs to be.
They are mirrors reflecting us to ourselves,
so that we might see ourselves
as though for the first time
and do what needs to be done about it
to better incarnate/exhibit/express
who we are and who we need to become.
It is our place to seek out the people
who allow us to be who we are
and enable us to become
who we are capable of being.
Too many people want us to be
who they want us to be,
and will not permit us to be
different from their idea
of who we ought to be.
“That isn’t YOU!”
“Get back in line!”
“Be who you are supposed to be!”
They want us to wear the costume
and play the role
assigned to us by our place in their life,
toeing the line
and exemplifying their ideal
of who we need to be.
“No variation allowed!
Recite the creed!
Embrace the dogma!
Project the image!
Be who we expect you to be!”
Communities of Innocence
simply want us to be
who we are capable of being
in each moment of our living,
moment-by-moment,
responding to what is called for
here and now
with what we have offer
from the gifts/daemon/virtues/
character/spirit/vitality/life
that comes with us from the womb
as our original nature–
sincerely and spontaneously,
without contriving
to arrange a particular outcome,
just doing what needs us to do it
as best we can
in the right way,
at the right time.
All our life long.
In this way,
Communities of Innocence
enable us to live in accord with the Tao
and exhibit the face that was ours
before we were born,
out of the balance and harmony
that envelop those
who are at one with the way
day-by-day. - 11/07/2020 — 12-Mile Creek 02 11/07/2020 — Union County, North Carolina
What’s so bad about your life?
What don’t you like about your life?
What is good about your life?
What do you like about your life?
What is it in your life that brings you alive?
How often do you go there, do that?
What is deadening about your life–
what drains the life out of you?
How often do you go there, do that?
How much of your heart is
in the life you are living?
What has to change to get more heart
in your life?
What control do you have over your life?
How much of that control do you exercise?
How might you better manage
the control you have
over your perspective?
Over your reactivity?
Over your attitude?
Over your relationship with yourself?
If you were to improve
your relationship with yourself,
what would you do?
What is keeping you from doing it? - 11/08/2020 — Jordon Pond 01 09/23/2012 BW — Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
A photograph that works
is a prefect example of the Tao
being exhibited in our daily life.
Tao is doing the right thing,
in the right way,
at the right time.
Like framing a photograph,
and pressing the shutter button.
When things click into place,
and you know that’s “it,”
that’s Tao.
Living in accord with Tao
is doing the right thing,
in the right way,
at the right time,
moment-to-moment,
situation-by-situation
day-by-day
throughout our life.
Try doing that without
paying attention.
Try doing that without
being here, now.
Try doing that with
your mind on something else.
Living in accord with Tao
is living centered,
focused,
grounded in,
and aware of,
the present moment,
moment-to-moment,
day-by-day.
Distraction,
diversion,
disturbance,
preoccupation,
grief,
mourning,
stress,
anxiety…
the list is long
of things that take us
out of the present moment
and transport us somewhere else.
“The noise of the world.”
“The dust of the world.”
“The 10,000 things.”
Are terms the old Taoists used
in talking about all
that interferes,
and/or disrupts,
our connection
with the flow of Tao.
Out of the flow,
we are a fish swimming
on the beach.
A bird flying in a cage.
A dog running
with its paws tied together.
Being in the flow
is waking up to being
out of the flow,
stopping,
looking,
listening,
breathing slowly and deeply,
pausing for a count of five
between exhale and inhale,
and bringing ourselves back
into the moment of our living.
Being here, now,
is being aware of being here, now.
Being aware of breathing here, now.
Being aware of what is happening
here, now–
and what needs to happen in response,
and how we can best respond to the situation
with the gifts/character/perspective/etc.
that we bring to the occasion,
without contrivance,
without judgment,
with compassion
and complete sincerity,
knowing where to place the camera
how to set focus/shutter speed,
aperture and iso
for a proper exposure,
and when to press the shutter button.
Or whatever the equivalent would be
for the present situation,
moment-by-moment-by-moment
all our life long.
That. Is. All. There. Is. To. It. - 11/08/2020 — Rocks and Clouds Oil Paint Rendering — Yosemite National Park, California
How we see things
is a function of 10,000 things,
a significant one being
the way people close to us,
and around us, see things.
How they influence/impact
the way we see things
depends upon the quality
of our relationship with them.
Growing up means growing apart
from the way things are seen around us
and growing into the way we see things
for ourselves.
We have to separate from others
in order to develop our own sense
of ourselves
and of how things are,
and how things ought to be.
Where there is no separation,
there is no seeing.
Seeing is seeing how we are influenced
by those around us–
and taking that into account
as we evaluate the accuracy of our perceptions
in light of the questions
that beg to be asked,
and the things that cry out to be said,
about them.
Who would be proud of you
for the way you see things?
Who would take issue with you?
Who encourages you to see things
the way you do?
Who discourages you?
What is a play
in your wanting to please the people
who are pleased with you
and being fine with displeasing
the people who are displeased with you?
What makes you think
that the way you see things
is the right way to see things?
Who says so?
Who are the authorities you recognize
to be a knowledgeable and proper authority
in the matter of the way you see things?
What makes you think they know
what they are talking about?
What evidence would it take
to change the way you see things?
What do you think needs to change
about the way you see things?
Where are you most open to the idea
of changing the way you see things?
Where are you already beginning
to change the way you see things?
When have you been surprised
to see that the way you see things
has changed?
Seeing the way we see things
and the things that influence
us to see the way we see,
is opening the door
to seeing things as they are,
apart from how we think things are,
and that is a step on the way
to seeing our seeing
and knowing what’s what
and what isn’t–
and that is what seeing is all about. - 11/07/2020 — Fall Leaves 07 11/08/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
Every photograph that works
is synchronistic arrangement
bringing the photographer together
at the right time
in the right place
in the right light
to compose the image
that makes the photograph.
Every photograph that works
is a miracle in that way.
Is the Tao creating wonder
and amazement
that we pass of with
“Pretty picture,”
on our way to something worth our time.
We are that way with miracles
of timing and grace
every moment
of every day.
Wherever we are,
in every moment
it is a miracle
that we are there, then
with all that is there, then
with us.
And we miss it.
We think, “Here I am.
So what?
Everybody is somewhere.
What is the big deal?”
It is a big deal for anybody to be anywhere!
At the precise moment
that everything else is with us
right here, right now.
It happens all the time
and we don’t notice it.
Take your cell phone
out of your ear
and start photographing
something amazing
that occupies the moment with you.
Teach yourself to be shocked
that This should be Here, Now
at the same exact time that you are!
It will transform the way
you take your life for granted.
We walk through miracles of pace and timing
every day
without noticing any of it,
with our cell phone stuck in our ear. - 11/09/2020 — Fall Leaves 04 11-08-2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
Cruelty and compassion
are the marks of bad religion and good religion.
All religion falls out between those two poles.
Theology has nothing to do with it.
How we live/treat one another
is all that matters.
It doesn’t matter why.
It matters what.
Consistently–
or even occasionally–
doing the right thing
for the wrong reasons
is infinitely better than,
and always to be preferred over,
doing the wrong thing
for the worst of reasons.
Do not stop to get your theology right!
Do not even pause to wonder about it!
Theology is as much an excuse
for not doing what needs to be done
as it is a reason
for doing what needs to be done.
Getting your theology all ordered,
lined-up,
systematic,
proof-texted,
iron-clad,
and irrefutably so
is just a way of feeling smug
about your oversights
and omissions.
Live with sincerity,
straight from the heart,
spontaneously responding
to what is called for
moment-by-moment,
without contrivance
or agenda,
judgment or opinion,
with nothing to gain or lose–
like the prodigal’s father
and the good Samaritan,
the Buddha and the Christ
in every age–
and leave the thinking
to those who see everything
but what they look at. - 11/09/2020 — Fall Leaves 06 11-08-2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
The 22-Acre Woods are,
for all practical purposes,
my private preserve–
for which I pay no taxes
or have any liability.
My wife and I own a quarter-acre lot
nestled into the northwest corner
of our subdivision,
which is also the southwest corner
of the 22-Acre Woods
(And I am the only one
who refers to the small tract of trees
in this way).
There are roughly 800 people
in our development,
and we may see a dozen of them–
generally the same dozen,
mostly teenagers–
walking (or biking) through the woods
in a given week.
I am the only one I have ever seen
with a camera in the woods.
They are owned by a family
of six or so elderly children
who can’t find a buyer for the property
because it is landlocked
with one access point in and out,
and it is a drainage area
for rainwater on its way to the sea.
There are more attractive parcels
close-by for developers to choose,
and I relish each day
without a bulldozer in it.
I can walk out our back door,
or our front door,
and be in the woods
as quickly as I can check the mail.
They are a wonderful mixture
of hardwoods and pine.
The deer have moved out
due to encroaching construction,
but small animals and snakes
and a pair of red-shouldered hawks
are holding out for as long
as luck allows.
I am two weeks away
from stepping into my 77th year,
and osteoarthritis in both knees–
and COVID-19–
keep me from traveling
to photo-worthy sites
more than two hours away,
and make the 22-Acre Woods
my primary source for scenes.
Access is always the first rule
of photography.
Without access,
a camera is worthless
regardless of what it costs,
and the 22-Acre Woods
are always accessible–
until the bulldozers arrive
and begin doing their thing.
So, I welcome another fall,
and the daily opportunity
to go for a walk in the woods.
With a camera in hand. - 11/09/2020 — Black Australian Swans 03 10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
What is your enthusiasm quotient?
Are you a proponent of enthusiasm?
An advocate?
An avid proponent?
An enthusiast?
On a low-to-high scale
of 1 to 10,
where do you rank yourself
on your daily degree of enthusiasm?
How many things are you enthusiastic about?
How often are they a part of your life?
If you were to raise your level
of enthusiasm,
what would you do?
Is your life more of a burden
or a pleasure?
What accounts for that?
Contributes to that?
What would need to change
for you to be able to find
more pleasure,
more joy,
in just being alive?
To what degree is your residual
amount of joy/pleasure
circumstances dependent?
To what degree is it a natural
expression of who you are?
Does your thinking flow from
joy and pleasure?
Create joy and pleasure?
Create their opposites?
What governs your thinking?
Why do you think the way you think?
What makes it easy for you
to think the way you think?
How often do you think about your thinking?
Think about your feeling?
Are aware of your thinking/feeling?
Can you separate thinking from feeling?
Are they two things for you
or one thing?
Upon what does your enthusiasm depend?
What part do reflection and realization
play in your emotional response to your life? - 11/10/2020 — Walnut Creek Trail 02 11/09/2020 — Union County, North Carolina
Thin is the line,
fine is the balance,
between having it made,
and having nothing at all.
Everything about democracy
depends on the willful cooperation
of all those involved in the work
of democracy.
Depends upon the good faith
of those promising
to “preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution against all enemies,
foreign and domestic.”
If those so promising
are themselves Domestic Enemies
of the Constitution
and Participatory Democracy,
well Who Is Going To Stop Them
from initiating a hostile takeover
of the government from within
the government?
The GOP has succeeded in placing
itself in the position
of destroying democracy
without a shot being fired.
Vladimir Putin has bought himself
a country
for less than one air craft carrier
would cost.
Talk about a coup!
All Trump has to do between now
and January 20, 2021
is fire all of the government workers
–the head of the Department of Defense
was the first to go–
who might be disloyal
and replace them with “acting” loyalists,
and have them all refuse to obey
the norms and procedures
for transferring power to Joe Biden.
The government then would obey Trump.
Democracy would be kaput.
And the take-over would be complete.
Then it would just be a matter
of cleaning things up,
with the ouster and martyrdom
of all of his political enemies,
at home and abroad.
Sweet.
Smooth.
Easy.
Simple.
What could go wrong?
That’s the question that turns the future.
And however the future turns out to be,
it is sickening
that the fortunes of democracy
depend upon the willing and willful compliance
of all the people doing what is truly right
in upholding the principles of democracy
throughout the long generations of people
taking their oaths of office
and serving the country to the best of their ability
so help them God. - 11/10/2020 — Carolina Thread Trail 06 11/09/2020 — Swinging Bridge, 12-Mile Creek, Lancaster County, South Carolina, Union County, North Carolina
Living in accord with the Tao
is laying aside all ambition,
all aspiration,
all agendas,
all aims,
all purposes,
all goals,
all objectives,
all desires…
other than and contrary to
living in accord with the Tao.
It is trusting the Tao,
trusting ourselves to the Tao,
beyond all logic and reason,
with liege loyalty
and filial devotion,
doing what is called for
with complete sincerity,
spontaneity
and non-contrivance,
in each situation as it arises
moment-by-moment
all our life long–
with the Tao understood to be
doing the right thing
in the right way
at the right time
and being right about
what is right–
living so in tune with the here and now,
the time and place of our living,
that we are at one with what is happening
and what needs to happen in response,
that we do what is called for
without hesitation
and without thinking,
time after time after time.
Like a stream flowing downhill,
adjusting its flow
to take boulders,
fallen trees,
cattle in the water,
and dams being constructed
into account on the fly
on its way to the sea–
and being right about
what needs to be done
in every moment of the journey. - 11/10/2020 — Crepe Myrtle 01 11/10/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
When this all started,
there were no natural laws.
No law of gravity.
No law of inertia.
Laws and rules hadn’t been invented.
Then there was this really big BANG,
and everything started flying in all directions
at once,
and it took several years
for it to get sorted out
and into stars and planets,
constellations and galaxies.
The universe figured it out
by letting things bang around
until order appeared,
and now we have clocks and calendars,
physics and chemistry,
scientists and mathematicians.
It’s amazing what can happen
just by letting things happen.
That is pretty much what happened
with each of us.
None of us knew what we were doing,
most of us still don’t,
and not one of us planned to be where we are,
or got here by making all the right moves.
We are here by virtue of the same process
that got the universe here.
We knocked around,
got knocked around,
and here we are.
Still getting knocked around,
and are on our way to somewhere else.
We don’t comprehend any of it.
It is all such a mystery.
Yet, we pretend everything is well in hand
and completely under our control.
We are masters of our destiny, you know.
Captains of our ship.
And all that.
We are the biggest mystery of it all.
And we think getting what we want
is all it takes.
What we want is our way,
at all times,
in all places.
That is such a laughter.
Give us our way–
we don’t know what to do with it!
We find our way to where we need to be
by taking one wrong turn after another.
And, poof, like that,
we wind up in exactly the right place.
Or not.
Either way, it’s a mystery how it works out.
It is as though something
knows more than we do.
But, how could that be?
It’s a mystery.
There is no one here but us,
but there is more to each of us
than meets the eye.
Even our own eye.
WE are the mystery!
You might think
we would be more interested
in getting to the bottom of us
than we are.
But we are more interested
in watching re-runs of sitcoms.
And that’s another mystery.
Mystery is everywhere!
And we are the biggest one anywhere! - 11/11/2020 — Sourwood 15 11/10/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
No one can tell us
what our Original Nature is.
That is ours to ferret out for ourselves.
Each of us is unique
in a special kind of way.
Our Original Nature
is like an emotional/psychological fingerprint.
We also differ by the sonic patterns
of our voice,
the coloration of our eyes,
the cones of our irises.
Not to mention our idea
of a good pizza.
We are as different as different can be.
We all are alike in that way.
We are different and we are the same.
The tide comes in,
the tide goes out,
the tide turns around…
Which way is it?
The tide is all those ways at once.
If it is not coming or going
it is turning around.
That’s the tide for you.
Our place is to say “Yes!”
to everything.
But everything includes “No!”
We say “Yes!” to “No!”
and say “No!” to things that are out of place,
or out of time,
or out of place and time.
“Everything in its own place
and in its own time!”
“Nothing in the wrong place,
or in the wrong time!”
“Yes!” can become “No!”
“No!” can become “Yes!”
depending on the time and place,
the here and now,
the situation that is at hand.
The Dalai Lama’s bodyguards
carry automatic weapons.
That is “Yes!” being prepared
to say “No!”
Shiva is the Lord of the Dance,
among other things.
He dances with time and place,
with here and now,
and is always exactly what he needs to be
in each time and place of his being.
Which means, of course,
that Shiva contradicts Shiva,
as all God’s worthy of the title do.
Yahweh is a God who hides
in thick darkness
sometimes,
and is said to be The Light of Life
in whom there is no darkness at all
sometimes.
Which way is it?
The tide comes in
and the tide goes out
and the tide turns around.
The only God worth having around
is the God who sacrifices God,
who kills God,
who bears the cross of contradiction
all the way to death,
to be resurrected/reborn as God.
Birth and death,
coming and going and turning around,
forever.
This is the dynamic of life,
of eternity,
of the way things are.
There is no static state of being.
Rigid,
static,
unbending,
unmoving,
unchanging…
is death, not life.
Life is becoming
by dying
and being raised from the dead
to new life,
which is becoming…
When something becomes,
something else dies.
Dying is the prerequisite of becoming.
We are born to die again and again
in the process of becoming who we are,
of maturation,
of developing wisdom and grace.
This life.
Life is the way of dancing
with the time and place of our living,
being what is called for here and now,
and being something else then and there.
Always moving,
coming, going and turning around.
Dying again and again,
coming to life again and again,
metaphorically and actually
(Where does that line lie?),
on and on.
Never stopping.
Never quitting.
Never arriving.
Always moving on.
Dancing with time and place,
being what is needed here and now,
doing what is called for forever.
World without end. Amen. - 11/11/2020 — Sumac 03 11-10-2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
Mindful living is being aware
of the present moment
with compassion for,
and acceptance of,
the “is-ness” of what is,
without judgment or even opinion,
on every level
for as long as the moment lasts–
and then being present
in the same way
in the next moment,
and so on,
throughout what remains
of the time left for living.
Jon Kabat-Zinn has some valuable
YouTube videos that will help
with the process.
Watch the shortest ones first,
and change your life
one moment at a time. - 11/11/2020 — Fall Leaves 12 11/08/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
Grounded in,
and living out of,
our original nature
and that which is ours to do,
we are invincible,
untouchable,
beyond reach,
and cannot be knocked off
dead center
no matter what comes along.
Send up the Cyclops!
And Medusa!
Genghis Khan and the Mongol Hordes!
It doesn’t raise a sweat.
We are invulnerable when we are
being who we are,
doing our heart’s sure things.
The way is clear before us:
Align our conscious identity
with our unconscious original nature,
and cast off all motives,
desires,
ambitions,
incentives,
aspiration–
and live connected with our heart
and its sense of what it needs to do.
Letting our heart
and our original nature
lead the way,
is to be on the way
across the slippery slopes,
the dangerous paths
and the razor’s edge–
with nothing to fear
the next adventure
to look forward to. - 11/12/2020 — Fall Leaves 28 11/10/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
It takes more than the will to live.
It takes willing to live
beyond being 98.6 and breathing.
It takes willing to live
as self-directed,
self-aware,
self-sacrificing
human beings,
in the service
of That Which Is Greater
Than They Are,
and Knows More Than They Know,
in doing what is called for
in each situation as it arises,
with no interest in,
or regard for,
their own personal advantage,
gain,
benefit,
good,
interest,
or boon,
but with the sincere
devotion to the good of the whole
and loyalty to That Which is Greater
Than They Are,
and Knows More Than They Know,
leading the way,
supplying their motivation,
and driving their effort
day-by-day.
A bit more on That Which Is Greater
Than They Are
and Knows More Than They Know…
In The Hero With A Thousand Faces,
Joseph Campbell says, talking about the Hero–
which is to be understood as
every person through time—
“There is everywhere a benign power
supporting him in his superhuman passage.”
And later:
“This is the power known to science as energy,
to the Melanesians as mana, to the Sioux Indians
as wakonda, the Hindus as shakti, the Christians
as the power of God… Its manifestation in the
psyche is termed, by the psychoanalysts as
libdio. And its manifestation in the cosmos as
the structure and flux of the universe itself.”
This is the power that is known to the Taoists
as the Tao.
This is the power that is at the heart of all
religion everywhere.
We all, at various points in our life,
have experienced something beyond
ordinary, apparent, reality
at work in our life and in the world.
That “something”
is The Mystery At The Heart Of Life And Being—
about which we can say no more than
“It Is!”
But, if we cooperate with it,
if we collaborate with it,
if we “throw in with it,”
place ourselves “in accord with it,”
live “aligned with it,”
there comes to pass in our lived experience,
a sense of peace and well-being
unsurpassed by anything money can buy. - 11/12/2020 — Tree Tops Panorama 10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
We need all the help we can get.
We are here, in part, to help one another.
The government is the extension
of ourselves into an organized body
of helpfulness,
providing all people access
to what they need
to live fulfilling,
productive,
creative,
satisfying lives.
The government is our collective way
of assisting one another
in the task of finding our life
and living it.
But, the government has been shanghaied
by corporate money and power
to serve corporate greed
at the expense of the people’s need.
“Profit At Any Price”
is the motto of rampant capitalism
gone rogue.
The government has been taken over
by capitalists
who are out for their own idea
of the good
and use the people as means
to their ends.
The capitalists turn the people
against themselves
by demonizing labor unions,
and collective bargaining efforts,
and social programs,
and civil rights endeavors,
and environmental movements,
and anything that the capitalists
perceive to be a potential threat
to their ability to increase their wealth.
The capitalists own the government
and the media
and the social/cultural institutions
that keep the people living
well below their potential
or their optimum level of functioning–
and incite jealousy, hatred and fear
of each other among the people
to keep their own interest in
and allegiance to,
Profit At Any Price
serving them well in their pursuit
of increasing their wealth
for the sake of increasing their wealth
throughout the rest of time.
Capitalists need to wake up,
grow up,
and get a life
that is centered on their
self-development as persons,
as human beings,
without thinking that is in any way
connected with their net worth.
Money is just an easy way out
of doing the work required
to become a full/complete/actualized
human being.
Money is a diversion/distraction
from the work of being who we are
in the service of the true good of the whole.
We only need enough money
to buy the tools we need
and provide the wherewithal
to do what needs to be done
with the gifts/daemon/character/
virtues/vitality/interests/
enthusiasm/heart and soul
that are reflected in our
original nature
and come with us from the womb
and are at our disposal
in the work to find our life
and live it
in being who we are,
doing what is ours to do,
in each situation as it arises
all our life long.
How to do that
is more of a problem
than it needs to be
because people are out for themselves
at the expense of everyone else.
Greed is driving the world.
Compassion is a much better choice.
See what you can do about
putting things right
in the time left for living. - 11/12/2020 — Fall Leaves 31 11/12/2020 — Sassafras Leaves, 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
We have to grant our imagination
access to us.
We do that by allowing our mind
to range freely over our
external and internal landscape,
playing with the possibilities,
turning things upside down,
inside out,
seeing things as they are
and as they should be
and as they never will be,
wondering why
how
what
when
where
about it all.
Taking things apart.
Putting them back together differently.
Getting to the bottom of everything.
Or half-way to the bottom of something.
Let your imagination wander around
with everything you have ever been told was so,
with everything you have always held to be so,
and see what you imagination has to say
about what is so,
and isn’t so,
and may be so,
or not so.
Let your imagination play with your life!
And join in the game!
Playing along! - 11/13/2020 — Fall Leaves 03 11/08/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
Fear, guilt and regret
lock us into an ever-deepening
and increasingly repetitive
cycle of fear, guilt and regret.
The more fearful, guilty and regretful
we are,
the more fearful, guilty and regretful
we will be.
It is up to us to turn the haunting Cronies
away!
“ENOUGH!
I SAY ENOUGH!!!“
Turning to stare them into silence
and send them away,
we step toward our own center
and become the redeemer/savior
of our own future
and the life we have yet to live.
We have to claim that future
and that life,
and secure them against the encroaching
erosion of fear, guilt and regret.
“BEGONE!
I SAY BEGONE!!!“
Has to be repeated with force
for as long as it takes to be free,
and settled into who we are,
what we have done and failed to do,
and what may happen to take everything away.
Our work is to be
“a wheel rolling/turning
out of its own center”
(Friedrich Nietzsche),
grounded in our original nature,
focused on seeing/doing
what is called for
in each situation as it arises
with the gifts/daemon/virtues/
character/spirit/vitality/life
that are ours to offer
throughout the time left for living.
This is the salvific orientation
that stabilizes us
and anchors us to the core
of sincerity,
balance and harmony,
and enables us to live spontaneously,
without contrivance,
in responding to the needs of the moment,
moment-by-moment
forever. - 11/13/2020 — Walnut Creek Trail 08 11/09/2020 — Walnut Creek, Union County, North Carolina
There is within each of us
a self who knows
and a self who thinks it knows.
And it is our place to know
which is which,
and throw in with the self who knows.
This is a problem
because the self who thinks it knows,
is sure it knows.
Is convinced it knows.
Knows it knows.
But.
It does not know.
And does not know that it does not know.
It is our place to know
that one self does not know
as much as it thinks it knows.
And to make inquiries.
We are to ask the questions
that beg to be asked,
and say the things
that cry out to be said
to both selves,
and see which self
does the best job
answering and retorting.
Put the selves to the test!
“What makes you think
that what you think is so
is so?”
“What do you base your beliefs on?”
“By what authority do you say
what you just said?”
“How does what you just said
jive with what you said five minutes ago?”
With what you said yesterday?”
“What do you have at stake–
what do you have to gain or lose–
in things being the way you say they are?”
“Who would be most proud of you–
the most happy with you–
for saying what you just said?
For thinking what you think is so?”
“Who are you trying to please?”
… And on like that,
getting to what is behind
what each self “knows,”
or knows, is so.
Do not take what either self says
as truth
without exploring it exhaustively
for its validity.
Make them say what is so
about what they think is so.
Talk it out.
Make them come clean.
The truth will shine through
if you take the time
to clear the window of perception
by getting to the source
of the perspective.
Your place is to investigate
what comes up from within
in knowing what each knower knows–
and does not know.
And deciding what to do about it. - 11/13/2020 — Carolina Thread Trail 04 11/09/2020 — 12-mile Creek Bridge, Lancaster County, SC/Union County, NC,
We can make anything better or worse
by the way we respond to it.
That being the case,
you would think we would study up on our
response ability and how to perfect it,
becoming experts in responding appropriately
to every occasion.
You couldn’t be more wrong.
Why is that?
Why don’t we make a concerted effort
to live the best possible life
under the circumstances?
Why don’t we all swear to the One Who Knows
within each of us,
an oath of fealty, loyalty,
allegiance and devotion,
that we will, with their help,
make our best effort
to respond to the events of our life
in ways that have the best chance
of turning things to the good
of ourselves,
our circumstances,
and all those concerned,
by simply doing what is called for
moment-by-moment
all our life long?
Why don’t we do that?
I’m serious.
Why don’t we? - 11/13/2020 — Peaks of Otter 10/29/2019 — Blue Ridge Parkway, Bedford, Virgina
Each of us has a destiny to fulfill,
a life to live,
a work to perform,
a calling to serve,
a self to express, exhibit, incarnate,
a divine spark to nourish
into a flame of glory and wonder
so that no one can tell where we stop
and God starts.
Sounds a bit much, I know.
But, there is Jesus saying,
“Come, follow me.”
And, “Greater things than I have done,
you will do.”
He’s saying, “Get out of your own way
and be who you are!
And allow the Mystery of Being
to come to life in you
in ways that are uniquely yours
to bring forth!”
Carl Jung said,
“In the final analysis,
we count for something
only because of the essential
that we embody.
If we do not serve that,
life is wasted.”
Our destiny is to be who we are
at the core of ourselves,
who we are capable of being,
who we are here to be,
to become.
Jung also said,
“There is in each of us
another, whom we do not know.”
This Other is “the essential
that we embody.”
Whom we live to know
and to serve with our life.
We do that consciously
by paying attention to
the unconscious clues
that are always winking at us,
trying to catch our eye.
Our life is like that of a fairy tale,
or of Luke Skywalker,
and the clues are lying all about us.
Help is on every side,
and the audience is groaning
because we won’t see what is right there.
So, we have to learn to stop, look and listen.
What are we missing?
What did we dream last night?
What makes our little heart sing?
What brings us to life in a way
that makes us forget what day it is,
and not know how long we have been doing
the thing we love to do?
What keeps coming back around?
What won’t go away?
What do we keep pushing aside,
only to have it pop up again in a month
or a year?
What do we find ourselves thinking about?
What do we wish we could do?
What do we keep finding excuses
for not doing?
There is a secret cause dying for us
to find it,
claim it,
live it as our own dream
dreaming we would adopt it
as our own life.
It is our destiny.
We have to work it into our life!
We have to find ways of being who we are!
We have to honor the dream that dreams of us!
We would be most remiss if we did not. - 11/14/2020 — The Cascades Panorama 04/19/2011 — EB Jeffres Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Wilkes County, North Carolina
When we live aligned
with the Secret Cause–
the Secret Cause of us,
of our life,
of the life that is to be our life–
we are at one with our destiny,
and centered in
and grounded upon
the why, what,when and how
of our existence.
In that place, we are “immortal,
invincible,
God-only wise,”
and “though we die, yet shall we live.”
And nothing can knock us off
“the still point,”
“the axis mundi”
“the center of the universe”
and “of the turning world.”
We are anchored to the adamantine foundation
of our life–
of all of life–
of the entire cosmos
and whatever might lie beyond it.
We are one with everything,
and live with a confidence
that borders on recklessness,
and have to call upon the guardians
of humility and self-transparency
to rein ourselves in
and live within the situations
and circumstances of our life
as they unfold about us–
as those who have work to do
that is vital to the whole
and to the Cause.
Serving the Secret Cause
in the time and place of our living,
in the here and now of our existence,
opens us to the agony of Jesus
with his, “I have come
to set the world on fire,
and how I wish it were already kindled!”
But, like him,
we have to submit to the times,
and trust ourselves to the secret workings
of the Secret Cause–
to the unfolding of the Tao
in its own time
and in its own way,
and remaining true to our role
of exhibiting in the moment
our gifts/daemon/virtues/character
in doing what is called for
situation-by-situation,
day-by-day
for as long as life shall last–
at one with the Mystery
at the Heart of Life and Being. - 11/14/2020 — Sourwood 19 11/10/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
“They cast their nets in Galilee
Just off the hills of brown
Such happy simple fisherfolk
Before the Lord came down.
Contented peaceful fishermen
Before they ever knew
The peace of God That filled their hearts
Brimful and broke them too.
Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
Homeless, in Patmos died.
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
Head-down was crucified.
The peace of God, it is no peace,
But strife closed in the sod,
Yet, children, pray for but one thing–
The marvelous peace of God.”
–William Alexander Percy
“The peace of God” is another term for
“The Secret Cause.”
They are interchangeable
and equivalent.
There is no “peace of God”
apart from our alignment with,
and liege loyalty to,
the Secret Cause.
Just as there is no life without death.
Just as every birth is death in the making,
and every death is a threshold to new life,
Just so, our embrace of the Secret Cause
is a union with “the peace of God”
that is “strife closed in the sod,”
and a crucifixion waiting to happen.
“Yet, children, pray for but one thing!”
It is “for this we have come.”
Both in terms of “What shall I say,
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
No! For this I have come!”
And: “What I do is me, for this I came!”
(Gerad Manley Hopkins)
We find what we seek
in our identification with the Secret Cause,
though it be like the moth’s
identification with the flame.
The Secret Cause of our life
is death and life and death and life…
The two are one.
It is oneness all the way down.
And up.
All of our dichotomies are false dichotomies.
Good/Bad,
Right/Wrong,
Left/Right,
Up/Down,
Black/White,
Simple/Complex…
Duality comes to an end
in the realization of oneness.
Both/And,
Either/Or–
which is it?
It is both/and
it is either/or.
Death is life,
life is death.
We die at every transition point
throughout our life,
and are born again
on the other side
of every successful transition.
Only to die again
at the next transition point.
And our life never runs out of
transition points!
And the Secret Cause
is the cause of most of them!
In the service of the Secret Cause–
the Secret Cause of our life,
of the life that is our life to live,
of the purposes and meanings
that are life itself for us–
we confront the contradictions,
dichotomies,
and polarities
that bring us forth
by demanding our death
again and again.
The Hero’s Journey is one long series
of deaths and resurrections.
“Yet, children, pray for but one thing:
the marvelous peace of God!”
It is Yin/Yang all the way down–
with Yin/Yang understood to be a metaphor
for the integration of opposites,
which remain oppositional
throughout their oneness,
as we bear the pain of that tension
our entire life,
by bringing them together in our life. - 11/15/2020 — Adams Mill Pond Reflection 02 11/09/2014 — Goodale State Park, Camden, South Carolina
Joseph Campbell said,
“Bliss is that deep sense
of being present, here and now,
and doing what you absolutely
must do to be yourself
in the time and place of your living,”
(Or words to that effect).
And if that is also the way
it should be done,
the way the situation is calling
for it to be done,
you are transparent to transcendence,
which is as close to God
as we are going to be in this life.
Here’s the problem:
There are multiple layers
to every situation.
What is allowed on some levels
are anathema on other levels.
What can you get by with
is the question.
Can you get by with being true
to yourself here and now?
This is your role in the process.
Only you can determine
what you can get by with,
and what has to give,
what has to go,
for you to be true to yourself
in each situation as it arises.
Your problem is finding places
where it is safe to be you,
and finding people around whom
it is safe to be you–
and, even then, you will be
risking everything,
every now and then,
in being who you are
and doing what is called for
in the situation.
This is called dancing
across the slippery slope,
traversing the dangerous path,
along the razor’s edge.
It is not for the faint of heart.
And it will require dying
again and again,
and being born again
again and again.
All the way to the end of the dance. - 11/15/2020 — Fall Leaves 34 11/10/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
You can be trusted to know
what is good for you and what is not,
where you belong and where you do not,
what is “you” and what is not,
what is reliable and what is not…
and to learn how to know what you know,
and trust yourself to know it
as you go along.
You are born with what it takes
to know what you need to know
to find what you need
to be who you are
and do what is yours to do
in doing what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises
situation-by-situation.
That is all there is to it.
But.
You cannot do it
without sitting still
and being quiet
on a regular basis
all along the way. - 11/15/2020 — Walnut Creek Trail 07 11/09/2020 — Lancaster County, South Carolina
Everything hinges upon,
flows from,
falls into place around
living meaningfully.
Living meaningfully
is living with your heart in
what you are doing.
What keeps that from happening?
There are no substitutes for it.
No stand-ins.
No reasonable facsimiles.
All of the distractions,
like money,
sex,
alcohol and pot,
can’t erase the emptiness
or disappear the truth
that your heart isn’t in
what you are doing.
The only fix
is for you to sit down
with your heart,
and listen.
Then find ways of putting
yourself in accord with your heart.
Living meaningfully
is the solution
to all of our problems today.
And tomorrow.
Forever. - 11/16/2020 — Along NY Highwat 30 06 09/28/2014 — Adirondack Park, Tupper Lake, Tupper Lake, New York
I am the jewel in the lotus–
om mani padme hum–
so is the Buddha,
so are you.
And, so are we all
the jewel in Indra’s net,
each reflecting the other
by the light of realization/awareness/
illumination/enlightenment/awakening.
One is many,
many are one.
We are the same in our differentness,
with each of us being unique,
set apart,
individually identified
by our outlook,
our fingerprints,
the sonogram of our voice,
the coloration of our eyes,
the cones of our irises
our idea of a meaningful life,
and 10,000 other things–
and each of us being exactly alike
by being different in so many ways.
One is many.
Many are one.
And we get to each other
through ourselves.
We cannot be intimate
if we will not be vulnerable.
We can be only as vulnerable
as we are conscious
of who,
and how,
and what we are.
The less self-transparent we are,
the more hidden we have to be,
all wars are fought by those
who refuse to know themselves.
If you want to know me,
know you.
There I am.
If you do not want to know you,
you will never know anyone.
You are the jewel in the lotus
only when you know it to be so–
and being humbled by it,
not impressed,
because you know it to be so
of everyone.
Everyone is the Buddha.
Everyone is the Christ.
And the Hero’s Journey
is living a meaningful life.
If you understand this
and apply it,
you have it made.
Om mani padme hum. - 11/16/2020 — Crepe Myrtle 01 11/10/2020 Oil Paint Rendering — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
Carl Jung referred to the feminine aspects of a man
as his Anima,
and to the masculine aspects of a woman
as her Animus.
When men are being the best woman they can be,
and women are being the best man they can be,
the word is balanced and in harmony,
and everything happens
exactly as it needs to happen
on all levels,
every day.
Things are as they are because
men think they are to be men,
and women think they are to be women.
And that isn’t the only problem.
No one has any idea of what a Real Man is,
and no one has any idea of what a Real Woman is.
We all need to go back to the womb
and start over
with parents who understand,
in a world of parents who understand,
and see how things would be
if we had a proper upbringing.
Who is the best man you have ever known?
Who is the best woman you have ever known?
Live toward being the best
of both those people
in the way you live your life.
If you are a man or a woman,
live to bring forth the best man
and the best woman,
you have ever known.
That will shift things toward the good.
Then we can work to improve our ideas
of “man” and “woman.”
And that will get us within reach
of the ideal human being.
And that will be a world
worth living in! - 11/16/2020 — Lake Chicot 06 10-27-2015 — Lake Chicot State Park, Ville Platte, Louisiana
Why do we care about what we care about?
We will never explain our way to the bottom of it.
The question can be answered
only with another question.
“Why do you care about what you care about?
We do not have access to the Carer within.
We like what we like.
We don’t like what we don’t like.
We love what we love.
We don’t love what we don’t love.
We care about what we care about.
We don’t care about what we don’t care about.
There is an entire cosmos within
which we do not control,
understand,
comprehend,
or even know about.
Why do we see the way we see?
Feel the way we feel?
Think the way we think?
Our viewpoints are not our own.
We do not reason our way there,
and cannot reason our way out of there.
We are led about,
directed and guided through our life
by what, we do not know.
Who/What is piloting our boat
on its path through the sea?
And, if we have a destination in mind,
Who/What put it there?
No matter how we try to evade,
escape,
deny
the conclusion,
we cannot avoid
the inescapable reality
that our life
has a life of its own.
The only reasonable,
logical
(since we like logic and reason so),
alternative here
is to open ourselves to
the truth of another boarder,
and devote ourselves
to the task
of sensing/feeling
the influence
of instinct and intuition,
and trusting ourselves
to the realm of hunches,
nudges
and things that occur to us
“out of the blue”
(or in the wee hours of the night),
in determining what is being called for
within the circumstances at hand,
responding with liege loyalty
and filial devotion,
in doing what we are led to do,
and allow our outcomes to be our outcomes–
without judgment or opinion,
but with grace and compassion
pouring over, spilling out–
and see where it goes. - 11/17/2020 — Tupper Lake Sunset 01 09/22/2015 — Adirondack Park, Tupper Lake, New York
Is it better to win or to lose?
To be tall or to be short?
To live with a plan or to live without a plan?
And ten thousand other questions like these.
Who is smart enough to know
what is better in a general,
vague,
absolute kind of way?
Better depends upon the situation at hand.
Better is clear in the here and now.
In the far from now,
there is no telling.
What is to our advantage
changes with time and place.
Every asset is simultaneously a liability,
and every liability is an asset,
depending upon a combination of factors
that are time and place dependent.
We are built to rise to meet
every occasion.
We are ideally suited
for the life that is ours to live.
The life that is ours to live
is a perfect fit
for what we bring to the table.
When we start messing with things
with an eye on perfection,
we mess things up royally
for ever one.
This is the moral of the Garden of Eden.
The moral of the Garden of Gethsemane
is “Thy will, not mine, be done,”
with the “Thy” being the Tao of time and place
situation and circumstance,
and consisting of what is being called for
here and now.
If you like something,
it is likely to change in time.
And, if you don’t like something,
that, too, stands a good chance of changing.
Forget what you want and don’t want,
like and don’t like.
Step into your life without opinion
or expectation,
judgment or demands.
Trust yourself to the developing situation,
and be whom the situation can trust
to do what is right
at the right time
in the right place
in the right way.
Things have a way of turning out
as blessing and grace
just by doing what is right
one situation at a time,
as though something
knew what it was doing. - 11/17/2020 — The Seated Buddha — From my Symbols of Transformation Collection
The Hero’s Journey is a meaningful life.
A meaningful life is the first thing to go.
Our eye is on the prize,
and the old Zen maxim always applies:
“The ability of the archer to hit the bullseye
varies in inverse proportion
to the size of the prize for doing so.”
A meaningful life is the bullseye.
But, we go for the money every time. - 11/17/2020 — Fall Leaves 24 11/10/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
All religion is based
on the premature interpretation
of experience.
The discovery of recurring cycles
in the relationships
between the stars and planets–
with mathematical regularity–
did not,
does not,
mean anything beyond what it is.
However, the stargazers who put
everything together
made it mean what they
said it meant
by interpreting it the way they did.
We should leave things we don’t know
anything about uninterpreted
until we know better what is going on.
This is the difference between
science and religion.
Science calls its interpretations
“hypotheses.”
Religion calls its interpretations
“facts”
(Everything religion “takes on faith”
becomes a fact the instant
it is so taken).
Joseph Campbell said,
“The whole point of science
is that there are no facts,
only theories.”
No religion,
or spokesperson for religion,
would say that about religion. - 11/18/2020 — The Grove 07 01/29/2015 –Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge, Hollywood, South Carolina, The Big House now serves as office space for the Refuge
We all die by our own hand.
We all are the secret cause of our own death.
We all have rhythms and themes
and ways of being, and being-not,
that carry us through our life
to the very end.
We step toward our own dying
step-by-step,
moment-by-moment,
day-by-day.
In each of us,
our fate and our destiny
meet up
and work themselves out,
to our oblivious,
unknowing,
out-of-touchness,
and our clueless turning
from one thing to another,
completely unaware
of the rhythms and themes
that are dancing us,
directing us,
all our life long.
Noticing and knowing
what we are doing
will enable us to smile
as death comes upon us,
and step toward it
as though we are meeting our lover,
greeting it with a warm embrace,
saying with passion
and meaning every word,
“It is so good to meet you at last,
and on such a good day to die!” - 11/18/2020 — Around Bass Lake 07 10/13/2014 — Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock, North Carolina
The rhythms and themes,
tastes and interests,
proclivities and ways of making coffee,
or whatever we drink instead,
which direct and define our living,
are unique among people
who have ever lived,
or will ever live.
We are one of a kind,
individual
and distinctive,
set apart.
And then we get married.
It takes fifty years or so
to knock off the sharp corners
and smooth out the rough edges
and make each of us fit company
for the other of us.
Marriage is equivalent to the smashups
that went on for eons
after the Big Bang
that eventually created
the laws of physics and biology
by destroying everything
that didn’t belong as it was
where it was.
We all take our place over time.
Become domesticated
and can be trusted to know
our limits
and where we belong,
and where we have no business being.
And, it would help to know something
of the rhythms and themes, etc.
of the person we are marrying
before we marry.
Insuring compatibility
will not guarantee no collision
of galaxies, but,
it will reduce the likelihood,
and that alone would make it
worth the effort. - 11/18/2020 — Atlantic Moonrise 01 08/08/2007 — Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina
Being right about who we are,
and living to place ourselves
in accord with who we are
is the essence of true-human-being-hood,
and the most meaningful thing we can do
in the time left for living–
for ourselves and all of humankind.
“What I do is me/for that I came,”
said Gerad Manley Hopkins.
“By the grace of God, I am what I am,”
said Paul the Apostle.
“I yam what I yam!”
said Popeye the Sailor Man.
There is no greater honor
or pleasure
than being who we are
in the way we live our life.
And it is the Secret Cause
(Stephen Dedalus/James Joyce)
that directs us to our death.
And what a beautiful, wonderful
way to die that is.
We are going to die some way,
some how.
Why not die being who we are?
As a direct consequence of being who we are?
Deliberately,
willfully,
being who we are every step of the way?
What is a better way to go?
Mean to die by the way you live!
Let that be your gift to the world!
As surely as Jesus’ death was
his gift to the world!
To live and to die being who we are
is the greatest meaning
we can give to our existence!
Why throw it away drinking beer
looking at the ocean?
Drinking beer, looking at the ocean,
is only a pilgrimage to restore our soul
and deepen our commitment
to being who we are in a world
that doesn’t notice or care who we are–
a “pause that refreshes”
and enables us to stand up,
and step back into our work
of being who we are,
doing what needs us to do it,
the way only we can,
all our life long. - 11/18/2020 — Lake Chicot 09 10/27/2015 — Lake Chicot State Park, Ville Platte, Louisiana
It is our body of work that does it.
It is the cumulative impact
of our life on other lives
over the full course of our life
that makes our living worthwhile,
and stands as our contribution
to the whole–
that constitutes “doing our bit”
in support of the idea of humanity
in the cosmos.
It’s like this:
We affect every moment for better or worse,
for good or ill,
by the way we respond to the moment.
We influence every situation
through the response we make
to the situation.
We are, then and there, for the sole purpose
of being who we are, then and there,
for the good of then and there.
You can blow that off if you want to.
That is your way of responding
to here and now.
You can do that with every here and now
that proceeds from this here, this now.
Blow it off.
Maybe that is just who you are,
and you can’t help it,
even by paying attention to it,
and wondering if there is a more helpful
way of being present
in the situations that constitute your life.
I’m saying that you owe it to yourself
and to the rest of us
to be consciously present
in each situation as it arises,
and to offer those situations
what is being called for there
to the best of your ability,
one situation at a time
all your life long.
Blow it off if you want to.
Never mind if you like.
I did what I could do for you,
you wanted nothing to do with it,
and that’s that.
But, before you go, look at it this way:
An orchestra,
a choir,
a quartet,
a duo,
you standing alone at the microphone,
works best when everyone
is on key, in tune,
and harmoniously in accord with the music.
Stay with me here.
Every situation is a performance
before an audience,
with music
and a microphone,
with a rhythm and a flow,
calling us to dance in sync
with the movement of that time
and that place.
And when we do it,
it is beautiful.
And when we do not do it,
it is not.
Your place and mine
is to grace each situation
with the full wonder of our presence,
day in and day out forever.
Blow it off if you must.
But, know what you are doing
when you do.
How we live matters!
It is the only thing that matters!
And we get to practice our part,
to play our role,
to be who we are,
offering what we have to give,
in each situation as it arises.
We have no excuse for failing
to be good at being us over time.
And everything depends on our
being good at being us,
moment-by-moment,
day-by-day.
Don’t believe it if you want to,
but why wouldn’t you believe it?
Why would you believe something
that lets you get by with being
a fly in the soup,
a gnat in the eye,
a scourge on the earth,
a blight, a curse, on the legacy
of humanity eternally,
the bane of human existence
through all the ages?
Answer me that,
before you go. - 11/18/2020 — Walnut Creek Trail 09 11/09/2020 — Lancaster County, South Carolina
My short list of the most important things:
See what you look at.
Look at everything.
Hear what you listen to.
Listen to everything.
Know what you know,
and what you don’t know.
Sit quietly as often as possible
for as long as possible.
Contemplate your original nature
and your natural rhythms.
Realize that you cannot change your life
without changing the way you live your life.
Without changing the way you think about your life.
Without changing the people you run with.
Without becoming transparent to yourself.
When you become transparent to yourself,
you become transparent to transcendence.
When you become transparent to transcendence,
you become as God,
with you and “the Father” being one.
How different are you willing for your life to be? - 11/19/2020 — Moss Glen Falls 03 09/25/2015 — Stowe, Vermont
How confident are you
of living out of your own center?
How courageous are you
in living out of your own center?
When your center comes under attack,
how do you defend it?
When you come under attack,
how conscious are you
of retreating to your center?
Your center is your adamantine core.
Your immovable,
unassailable rock.
Your unshakable foundation.
Do you have any idea
of what I am talking about?
Are you blown about,
unsure of yourself,
easily talked into and out of
anything?
With no north star to guide you,
and no gyroscope
to hold you on course?
Second-guessing and self-doubting
leading the way?
If so, it is time to find your center.
Your center is an extension of the Source,
with your own particular blend
of tastes/interests/peculiarities/
proclivities/idiosyncrasies/gifts/
ways/characteristics/etc.
forming the “I am” that grounds you
and sets you apart from everyone else.
You are alike everyone else
in that we all stem from the Source,
and we are different from everyone else
in that we are a unique combination
of traits unlike anyone who has ever been
or will be.
And the idea that we should abandon who we are
and be identical to everyone else is anathema.
Our place is to BE who we are
in relationship with everyone else,
in the old, “Define yourself
while staying in touch” kind of way.
Tricky.
And it all hangs on our knowing
and living out of our center.
Our center is the home
of our Original Nature
and our Natural Rhythms.
Joseph Campbell said,
“We know when we are on the beam
and when we are off of it.”
“The beam” here is a metaphor
for our center.
We know when we are centered,
balanced and in harmony with ourselves,
and when we are not.
We have to know what we know.
Pay attention.
Be aware.
And consciously allow our action
to flow from our center
by observing ourselves in action,
and checking to see if the origin
of what we are doing–
how we are living–
is flowing unimpeded from our center,
or if it is being directed
by some other source
(Like the desire to be pleasing,
or the fear of being abandoned),
and doing the work
of coming to terms
with our vulnerabilities
by being aware of them,
and of living out of our center
by being aware of it.
Awareness is the solution
of all of our problems today
and every day.
Perhaps this would be a good time
for me to mention
the Jon Kabat-Zinn YouTube videos
(The shortest ones first)
on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.
It is difficult to live out of our center
without being aware of what we are doing.
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the awareness guru.
Start with him. - 11/19/2020 — Sunset at Water Rock Knob 08/05/2007 — Blue Ridge Parkway, Maggie Valley, North Carolina
What feeds your soul?
What makes your little heart sing?
What brings you to life?
What nurtures you,
nourishes you,
restores you,
centers you,
grounds you,
balances you,
harmonizes you,
reconnects you to you?
Make it your practice
to incorporate the things
that do these things
into your life
on a regular basis.
You are responsible for
your own self-care.
We neglect ourselves
to our own demise.
It is like dying a slow death
by our own hand.
Whose side are you on?
Would anyone ever guess
that you are on your own side
by the way you treat you?
You are your only hope.
You are the guardian
of your own Inner Guide.
Follow the guidance
of the One Who Knows Within!
And start doing the things
that bring you to life!
Regularly!
Dependably!
Relentlessly! - 11/19/2020 — Fall Canopy 02 11/08/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
We see things the way we see things.
And.
Everything hinges/turns/flows from/falls out around
how we see things.
Nothing is more important
than being right about the way we see things.
That being the case–
and who could see it any other way–
you would think we would take the pains required
to see things as they are.
In other words,
to see the things we look at
as scientists would see them
and not as religious fanatics would see them.
That would mean
stepping back from the way we see things
to see ourselves seeing things.
And make inquiries.
Why do we see things the way we see them
and not some other way instead?
Where does the way we see things come from?
How many other ways of seeing things
can we imagine?
How do we know the way we see things
is the right way to see things?
Who would be proud of us
for the way we see things?
Who would be disappointed in us
for the way we see things?
Who are we trying to please/displease
by the way we see things?
Where do we get our ideas
about the way we ought to see things?
Who are the authorities we respect
when it comes to how to see things?
Other than taking their word for it,
how could we determine whether the way
we see things
is the right way to see them?
What standards/principles govern
the way we see things?
What experiments can we devise
to test the validity of the way we see things?
How can we determine if we know
what we are doing,
seeing things the way we see things?
What are we afraid of
when it comes to examining
the way we see things?
What are the questions we are afraid to ask
about the way we see things?
What are the questions we refuse to ask?
How do we know that we know
what we are talking about?
Who says that the way we see things
is the right way to see things?
Who says that the way we see things
is the wrong way to see things?
How do we know who is right?
What are we taking for granted
when it comes to the way we see things?
What are we assuming to be so?
What justifies us in seeing the way we do?
What calls us into question?
What does how we see things
say about what is most important to us?
How do we know that ought to be important?
Who says so?
Who says not-so?
What makes us think they know,
or don’t know,
what they are talking about?
Etc. and so forth all the way
to the bottom of the matter. - 11/20/2020 — Looking East 05 09/01/2014 — Water Rock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, Maggie Valley, North Carolina
We start where we are,
with seeing all there is to see
here and now–
right here, right now.
Asking all of the questions
that beg to be asked.
Saying all of the things
that cry out to be said.
Without judgment, evaluation
or even opinion–
and with compassion and acceptance–
in a “This, too! This, too!”
kind of way.
All of it is grist for the mill.
We are milling ourselves.
Who we are
and who we have within us to be.
We are seeking ourselves,
and looking for the life
that is ours to live.
We find both
waiting for us
at the center.
It all comes together
at the center.
All paths lead to the center,
flow from the center,
circle around the center.
The paths are not straight.
There is nothing linear
or sequential about us.
“The shortest way through
is the long way around”
(Conventional wisdom saying).
Carl Jung talked about “individuation”
(What we are about,
becoming who we are,
doing what is ours to do)
as “The circumambulation of the self.”
It is a long,
downward spiral to the center
of life and being.
At the center
is also The Source,
which is also The Mystery,
of Life and Being.
We are one with The Source
and The Mystery
of Life and Being.
And, here is the secret
of the center,
at the center,
we are connected
with everyone else
at their center.
The many are one at the center.
and say, “AUM…”,
which is a lot like saying, “WOW…”,
together,
through the ages. - 11/20/2020 — Carolina Thread Trail 05 11/09/2020 — Twelve-Mile Creek Swinging Bridge, Lancaster County, SC/Union County, NC
We find the center by seeking
and exploring,
and exhibiting,
our Original Nature
and our Natural Rhythms.
“Is this Me or Not-Me
here and now?”
Is the question that
carries us into the roles
our lives require us to play,
and the masks we wear day-to-day.
Joseph Campbell talked about
the Primary Mask being who
our parents, our culture, our society
ask/expect us to wear,
and the Antithetical Mask being who
we are in our inmost self.
For 40.5 years in the ministry,
I was an introvert
pretending to be an extrovert.
I did it by being conscious of it.
By not pretending to myself.
I stepped into the role
my life was asking me to play,
like I would if I were an actor
playing my part for the Big Screen.
Life is like a Big Screen.
We show up,
deliver our lines as they should be delivered,
act our part as it should be acted,
take our bows,
and return to our life off-screen,
where we can settle into “just being ourselves”
for a while.
The masks are essential.
We have to walk two paths at the same time.
Who we are
is who-we-ought-to-be
and
who-we-can’t-help-being.
Where the two paths clash considerably,
we have to work it out.
I could not have been a minister
in a right-wing evangelical church.
I knew where to draw my lines.
There are some parts we cannot play
and be true to ourselves.
Actors do not accept every part
they are asked to play.
Fraser Snowden said,
“The only true philosophical question
is ‘Where do we draw the line?'”
The answer to that question
is a door opening to the mystical
center of ourselves,
revealing who we are
in ways we might never have guessed
without being pushed to the point
of drawing a line.
All of our lines are mirrors
reflecting us to us.
In drawing our lines,
we know who we are,
what is important,
and where we stand.
Where have you drawn lines
in the past?
Where are you drawing lines
in the present?
Where are you likely to draw lines
in the future?
There you are.
Other places/doors/mirrors revealing
us to us
are the things/people that/who attract us
and the things/people that/who repel us.
Anything, any person,
that/who evokes a visceral reaction in us
is telling us about us.
The things we intend to do
and keep forgetting to do.
The things we intend not to do
and find ourselves doing.
The tunes we hum/sing without meaning to.
The themes which keep playing themselves out,
or coming to the surface again and again,
when our mind is “just wandering.”
The dreams–particularly the Big Dreams,
and the recurring dreams–we have at night.
The day dreams–dreads and happy fantasies–
we have during the day.
The ways we spend our money.
The ways we spend our time.
Our viewpoint.
Our preferences.
Our fears.
Our desires.
All are clues to who we are,
to who we are afraid of being,
to who we do not want to be at all,
that need to be examined,
investigated,
explored,
contemplated,
mined
for the gold.
The paths to the center
are paths to meaning and purpose,
hope and fulfillment,
identity and confidence,
balance and harmony,
and wait for our cooperation
to lead us to ourselves. - 11/20/2020 — Tree Panoramas 04 10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
Our life is designed
to bring out the best in us,
or not.
Joseph Campbell said,
“It took the Cyclops
to bring out the hero in Ulysses.”
But, not in all those
the Cyclops met before Ulysses.
We do not have to stand up
and step forward to meet our life
with our best in hand.
We can run.
Carl Jung said, however,
“We meet our destiny on the road
we take to avoid it.”
Yet, ever there,
we do not have to meet it
with our best in hand.
We can turn to denial,
despair,
dejection,
addiction…
and die long before
some coroner makes it official.
Our life doesn’t always
bring out the best in us.
How we respond to the demands
of the moment
is our call to make,
moment-by-moment-by-moment.
Having what it takes,
and doing what needs to be done,
is as much a matter of perspective
and perception,
courage and willful determination,
as it is skill and ability.
Just making the effort
attracts help from
the most unexpected places.
Just opening ourselves
to the gifts of our imagination,
creates shifts and openings
in our circumstances
we could never expect.
We craft miracles by
stepping forward,
wondering how we are going to
do this thing that is called for.
Again and again.
Ours is the Sisyphean task
of putting our shoulder
to our life and rolling it up the hill
each day
and following it down the hill
each night,
to roll it up the hill again
the next day,
day after day after day.
How did Sisyphus do it?
I would have to make a game of it.
I would make a friend of the rock.
I would love the rock
and my relationship with the rock.
Each day, I would roll it to almost
the top of the hill,
seeking the still point
between up and down.
It would have to be there somewhere.
The place of balance and harmony.
The place of rest.
Aha!
And I would take a break,
and count the seconds each day,
before the tipping point gave way,
and down she goes.
I would live to discover my personal best,
and strive to beat it each day.
And I would walk slowly down hill,
to start over again tomorrow.
I would give it my best each day,
with no end in sight,
and no way out.
It is called making meaning,
what humans do best.
Just me and my rock called Micky
(For Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stone). - 11/21/2020 — Huntington Beach Sunrise 10 08/25/2015 — Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
Denial, self-deception, illusion, delusion,
diversion, distraction, deflection,
and all their spin-offs
and relatives,
have gotten us this far.
I’ll bet they keep us going.
You can say what you want to
about the high values,
liberty, justice, compassion, peace…
all the things we say we are living for.
But we are living out of fear, desire, duty,
and their extensions,
guilt, anger, rage, hatred, greed, terror, dread…
If you want to motivate someone,
go for stirring things up
in the areas of guilt, anger, rage, etc. area.
Forget appealing to their “higher selves.”
Donald Trump is a case in point.
He got 70 million people to vote for him
on that basis.
And the 73, or so, million who voted against him?
Most of them acted out of the same motivation,
only directed against him.
Everybody voted their fear and rage.
So don’t give me
the humanity is all justice and love
at the heart ga ga.
Humanity is out for itself at the heart,
even though it has no idea of what that means.
It thinks what it means
is having what it wants
and not having what it doesn’t want,
and that is how it lives–
toward having its way
and avoiding all things not its way.
And it doesn’t like the way that sounds,
so it tricks itself with words
that conceal its intentions and desires.
Telling ourselves what we want to hear
is what we do best.
Or is it shooting ourselves in the foot?
Perhaps, they are the same.
If you don’t want to be that way,
you will be working against the grain,
swimming against the current,
like up Niagara Falls,
but, you could begin by looking in the mirror
until you see who is looking back.
Self-transparency is the foundation
of a super-human life,
the life of a Real Human Being.
Just looking until we see.
Just listening until we hear.
Just inquiring until we know.
And letting nature take its course.
Nature does what needs to be done
without looking back
in each situation as it arises,
not kidding itself.
Nature doesn’t operate
out of fear, desire, duty.
Nature is fearless,
desire-less,
duty free.
Think lemmings and the sea.
Nature does what is called for
without knowing why,
or caring about what the gain is.
And it doesn’t take more than it needs.
Or ask for more than it has a right to.
And trusts it all to be just fine
some how.
The difference between us and nature
is that we have a bigger brain
and can foresee the future,
and think we can avoid aspects of it
and guarantee other aspects of it,
and are future-bound.
And we can remember the past
want to avoid certain aspects of it
and guarantee other aspects of it,
and are past-bound.
And that plays hell with the present.
But here we are.
Now what?
I’m just going to see what the next moment
calls for and strive to do it,
with all things considered,
insofar as that is possible,
and see where it goes,
and let that inform what I do
in the next moment,
for all the moments that remain
in my life.
And hope for the best.
Whatever that may be. - 11/21/2020 — Lake Chicot 06 10/27/2015 — Lake Chicot State Park, Ville Platte, Louisiana
We are riding a black horse
bareback on a dark night
in the pouring rain
down a steep trail.
Our place is to stay on the horse,
and not try to tell her what to do.
I recommend leaning forward,
with your cheek on her neck
and your hands extended down
toward her shoulders
and your knees pressing into
her sides,
and letting her find the way.
Keep that image/metaphor
in mind
as you step into each day.
And bring it up into consciousness
when you encounter
turns of events you don’t expect,
and news you can’t handle.
We are riding a black horse
on a dark night
in the pouring rain
down a steep trail. - 11/21/2020 — Adams Mill Pond B&W 53 11/10/2014 — Goodale State Park, Camden, South Carolina
We have to be right about what’s important.
Everything rides on it.
But how can we be right about what’s important?
By being wrong, wrong, wrong
with our eyes open.
Getting it right the first time
is an accident.
Getting it right twice in a row
just starting out
is stupid lucky.
Getting it right every time
is unheard of.
We have to get it right every time.
We get there the hard way.
By being aware of what we are doing.
Nobody can tell us how to be right.
We figure it out for ourselves.
Books are no help.
Recipes are useless.
Experience is the only teacher,
and we have to be the willing student.
The way to make really good soup,
let’s say, chicken noodle,
is by making a lot of really bad
chicken noodle soup.
And learning as we go.
We learn what’s important the same way.
How do we know what’s important?
By trying out all of the likely candidates
and seeing how it works.
We experiment our way through the options.
“That’s not it!”
“That’s not it!”
“That’s not it!”
“Nope.”
“Nope.”
“Nope.”
All the way down the line.
Learning how to see what we look at,
how to evaluate what we see,
how to know what’s what.
Until, bingo, there it is!
And when we know “There it is!”,
we know it.
And when we know it,
nothing can talk us out of it.
It is important because
we know it is important.
Because we say so.
And we will go to hell for it,
if need be.
Because it matters most.
What will you go to hell for?
When you can answer that question,
you know you have something
to hang on to.
Hang on to it,
and serve it with your life! - 11/22/2020 — Sun Beams 02 09/02/2014 — Water Rock Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, Maggie Valley, North Carolina
If everyone would sit still
and be quiet
until The Shift happened
the world would be instantly transformed.
Shift happens.
It happens regularly throughout our life.
But we cannot schedule it.
It doesn’t happen when it is convenient.
It doesn’t happen at the same time
for anyone,
much less for everyone.
It can be assumed,
and even expected,
and looked forward to,
but it cannot be predicted,
and if it is controlled,
it is artificial,
and cannot be relied upon
to be as dependable
and trustworthy
as the real thing.
When The Shift happens,
our life “clicks” into place,
and things take shape around that.
We know what is important,
see what needs to happen,
hear what is being called for
in each situation as it happens,
and live in the service
of our destiny
in responding spontaneously
to the need of the moment
in each situation as it arises,
with sincerity and non-contrivance,
compassion and acceptance,
balance and harmony,
day-in and day-out,
all our life long.
This is the attitude,
and the approach to life,
that changes the world.
And it arises on it own
out of the stillness
of the silence. - 11/22/2020 — Wood Duck 02 05/15/2014 — Bass Lake, Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock, North Carolina
We are here to serve our destiny–
to be who we are,
naturally,
spontaneously,
doing what is ours to do,
without contriving to have our way,
or to get what we want,
or to turn things to our
benefit,
profit,
gain
or advantage–
just to be who we are
and do what is ours to do
for no other reason than because
that is who we are
and that is what is ours to do.
Period.
In each situation as it arises,
all our life long.
Our destiny is the rough equivalent
of a caste system,
the only difference being
that no one can tell us what
our destiny is
by virtue of the circumstances
of our birth.
No one can tell us what our destiny is.
That is ours only to know
for ourselves.
Only I know what is “me.”
And “not-me.”
Only you know what is “you.”
And “not-you.”
Joseph Campbell said,
“We know when we are on the beam,
and when we are off of it.”
We know what is ours to do
when we see it.
We know it is talking to us
when it calls our name.
Of course, most of us have other ideas.
We have our preferences
and our dreams for our life.
The trouble is that our life
probably has other ideas for us.
This gets us to the heart of,
“Not my will, but thine, be done!”
Our life’s will for us
can be like a crucifixion,
a self-sacrifice,
acquiescence,
surrender,
submission,
death,
dying
to our wants/wishes for ourselves
in swearing filial allegiance
and liege loyalty to our destiny
and our life’s will for us.
This is the story of the Garden of Eden
and the Garden of Gethsemane.
Who is the final authority
determining how our life is to be lived?
Is it us?
Or our life, our destiny?
Our answer to that question
determines everything that follows. - 11/22/2020 — Walnut Creek Trail to Carolina Thread Trail Connector Trail 01 11/09/2020 — Lancaster County, South Carolina
What are the things keeping us
from being the person we are capable
of being,
doing the things we are capable
of getting done?
Really–what is holding us back?
Standing in our way?
If it weren’t for what,
we would be doing what?
Sit quietly with those things
in your lap.
Meditate on those things.
Contemplate those things.
See what stirs to life in so doing.
See what comes to light.
See where you are being led,
and don’t fail to go
where you are being directed.
Your life needs you to live it
the way it needs to be lived.
To serve your destiny.
To be who you were born to be.
In each situation as it arises
all your life long.
Beginning right here right now. - 11/23/2020 — Reeds at Sunset 05/27/2012 — Abbot Lake, Peaks of Otter Lodge, Blue Ridge Parkway, Bedford, Virginia
“I believe, help, thou, my unbelief!”
Means, “I know who I need to be,
help me be who I am!”
Means, “I have the mental part down!
Help me incarnate that in my life!”
Means, “I know what needs to be done!
Help me do it!”
“In each situation as it arises!
All my life long!”
We live to put it into action.
We live to live the truth of who we are
in the midst of the 10,000 things.
In the whirling Dust of the World.
Amid the heaving waves of the wine-dark sea.
If you think that is easy,
back it out of the drive way
and take it round the block
a time or two.
It takes focus,
clarity,
concentration,
dedication,
stillness
and silence,
and practice, practice, practice
to live without contrivance,
with sincerity,
spontaneity,
compassion,
awareness,
balance,
harmony,
acceptance of–
and compliance with–
how things are
and what needs to be done about it
in each situation as it arises,
throughout our life.
But.
Once we get that down,
it is clear sailing
all the way. - 11/23/2020 — Crepe Myrtle 02 11/10/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
It takes returning regularly
to stillness and silence
in maintaining our connection
with the center
and the Source–
with the Mystery at the heart
of life and being.
When we lose that connection,
we are on our own,
without guardrails or guidance,
lost in the wasteland
of fear/desire/duty,
with nothing to stabilize
or orient us
beyond the next thing to want,
and all the things to hate,
despise,
loathe
and detest
to keep us going.
Groundless living
is drifting–
free-falling–
through our life,
hoping to find something
to make it worthwhile,
and settling for one addiction
after another
as an acceptable substitute
for being alive.
All the time ignoring
the life that is “right there,”
“right here,”
waiting to be recognized,
acknowledged,
embraced
and engaged.
Like the man holding the butter,
looking for the butter.
Like the woman with her glasses
on her head asking,
“Has anybody seen my glasses?”
We walk past our life,
through our life,
seeking our life,
when all it takes is stopping,
seeing what we are looking at,
hearing what we are listening to,
knowing what we know
and doing what needs to be done
about it. - 11/23/2020 — Sourwood 05 11/04/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
We are to live out of the center of who we are–
“Like a wheel turning out of its own center,”
(Friedrich Nietzsche).
In order to do that,
we have to spend time
nurturing
and nourishing
our relationship
with our center.
Our center is the contact point with
our original nature,
our natural rhythms,
and the Source–
the Mystery at the Heart
of Life and Being.
It is no light thing
to return to the center!
And it is an absolute essential thing
to live from there!
At the center,
there is stillness and silence
and a perceptible, though faint,
sense of “AUM” in the air.
And we know we have what we need
to find what we need
to do what needs to be done
in each moment,
moment-by-moment,
situation-by-situation,
day-by-day,
throughout our life
and beyond.
Return regularly to the center,
and everything will fall into place
around that.
We have to understand, however,
that “falling into place”
doesn’t mean “having our way.”
We will have to adjust
our expectations,
aspirations
and ambitions
to align them with the center’s aims,
and our destiny’s interests,
which is necessary to turn things around
and create the framework
for a life lived from the center,
transforming all things. - 11/24/2020 — Ghost Trees of Graveyard Beach 01 08/21/2015 — From my Skeleton Trees Collection–This is a blended image with the Ghost Tree from Botany Bay Heritage Wildlife Preserve and the beach scene from Huntington Beach State Park, both in South Carolina
A Community of Innocence
is a group of 3 to 5 people
who come together
with no agenda,
and nothing at stake in each other,
beyond serving as a
sounding board
for one another
in helping everyone in the group
find their life,
and live it
with allegiance to
their individual destiny,
through establishing
their contact with,
and living from,
their own center
by way of self-transparency
and awareness,
mindfully exhibiting
sincerity,
non-contrivance,
balance,
harmony,
and spontaneity
in response
to what is happening,
and what needs to be done in response,
in each situation as it arises.
We do not live
to answer the question,
“What do I want to get from my life?”
Or,
“What am I getting from my life?”
But,
“What do I have to offer my life
and the situations that comprise my life,
out of the gifts I have to share,
for the good of the situations as a whole?”
And,
“How can I best live from my center
in serving my destiny
and my essence,
by being true to my original nature
and my natural rhythms,
situation-by-situation?”
Our Communities of Innocence
(And we can have as many
as we can fit into our life)
listen us into hearing what we have to say,
and offer a regular reminder
of the importance of finding
a place for stillness
and silence
in each day
for self-reflection,
examination,
exploration
and realization
in order to know what we know
and what is being called for
in the here and now
of our living.
That is all we need
to find what we need
to do what needs to be done
in the times and places
of our living.
And no one can do
more than that. - 11/24/2020 — 12-Mile Creek 01 11/07/2020 — Union County, North Carolina, an iPhone Photo using the Spectre long exposure app
Our way of living
creates waves upon the surface of life,
making it impossible
for us to see into the depths
in order to perceive
the truth of our essence,
and live out of our original nature
and our natural rhythms,
in meeting the requirements
of the here and now
as we move through each day.
In order to live out of the truth
of our center
within the time and place
of our living,
we have to make the concerted effort
to stop at regular intervals
throughout the day
to remember our breathing
and shift into self-realization,
by sitting still and being quiet
to calm the waves,
allow the mud to settle,
and clear the water
to connect with the deep core
of our being
and the Source,
the Mystery,
at the heart of life.
Being thus centered and grounded,
we can step back into the moment
as those capable of seeing
what is happening
and what needs to happen in response–
what is being called for
and how we can rise to the occasion
with the gifts we have to offer,
with sincerity and non-contrivance,
in each situation as it arises.
Transforming the world
one situation at a time. - 11/24/2020 — Flooded Path 11/04/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina, the path becomes a drainage system for the woods, carrying runoff down the hill to the sea every time we get 2.5-3 inches of rain within 3 hours. It has worked this way from the beginning.
What is your predominant mood?
What is your overriding feeling?
What is the nature of your outlook?
Of your viewpoint?
Of your disposition?
How does your body carry anxiety, anger, hopelessness, depression, grief, mourning, fear, worry, concern…?
What is not working about your life?
Where are your needs and expectations being disappointed?
What is the nature of your betrayal?
Where do you turn when you have nowhere to turn?
When you know you are “on the beam,”
what is the nature of the beam?
What are you doing?
What happens to knock you off “the beam”?
What is the nature of your dissatisfaction?
How would you go about changing
what you tell yourself
about what has happened/is happening
in your life?
How does your “narrative” need to be changed?
Are you your own best friend?
If you were your own best friend,
what do you think you most need to hear?
On a low to high scale of 1 to 10,
how would you rate your response-ability
to disappointment?
to beauty?
to good news?
to bad news?
to wonder?
to excitement?
to opportunity?
to invitations?
Questions for self-reflection. - 11/25/2020 — Goodale Mirror Panorama 01 — Goodale State Park, Camden, South Carolina
Freedom is not having anyone
telling us what to do,
what to like and not like,
what to see
and how to see it…
We want to be free to choose,
or not,
all of that for ourselves.
As if.
We are not–not one of us is–
free to choose what we like
and don’t like,
what we want
and don’t want,
how we see
and how we don’t see,
what is important
and what does not matter at all…
Anymore than we are free
to choose our destiny,
or how we will respond to it,
or our taste in pizza,
or when we will be in the mood for it,
or any of our preferences
and proclivities,
or our interests
and our lack of interests…
We have no say in who we are,
or how we are.
“Free will”
is such a hoax.
We are not free to will anything
other than what we will.
“Freedom of choice”
is another one.
We are not free to choose our choices.
We are not free to choose what we want.
Or what we don’t want.
We are not free to live
anyway we please
because we are not free
to choose what pleases us
and what does not.
We are as bound to who we are
and how we exhibit that in our life
as a leopard is to its spots
and a spider is to the web it spins.
Enough of the free will myth!
Stop trying to have your way
and put your effort into
having it not!
Real freedom is walking away
from your idea of you,
and embracing the you
that is calling you into its service!
We get to choose our masters!
It is the only choice we have!
Who is guiding your boat
on its path through the sea?
What is the source of the good
you call good?
What is the essence of you
that you are asked to exhibit,
to incarnate,
to serve with your life?
Our quest is to know these things,
to grow up against our will,
and to be, at last,
who we are–
and have been
since before we were born! - 11/25/2020 — Sweetgum Fall 11/24/2020 — 22-Acre Woods, Indian Land, South Carolina
My best advice has not changed over time:
Sit still,
be quiet,
wait for the mud to settle
and the water to clear.
See what arises from the silence.
What calls you to action.
What compels you to act.
What you do about it
tells the tale
that is waiting to be told.
At this point,
at every point,
your future is entirely
up to you. - 11/25/2020 — Fall Fern 11/24/2020 — Indian Land, South Carolina, an iPhone Photo
There is only knowing what your “thing” is,
and doing it.
Knowing what makes your little heart sing,
and doing it.
Knowing what is meaningful for you,
and doing it.
Knowing what you love,
and doing it.
How long as it been?
How long will it be
before you work it into your life?
That is your life!
The rest of your life
consists of what all doing that leads to
and what it takes to support
your doing it.
If your life is renting a horse
and jumping obstacles,
rent a horse and jump obstacles,
and let everything else
fall into place around that.
Everything. Else. - 11/25/2020 — Trees Panorama 03 10/25/2019 — Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
Boredom is not a call for
“Action, any kind of action!”,
but an invitation
to sit still and be quiet.
We are forever passing up silence
for action–
and therein lies the problem.
“Action, any kind of action,”
is distraction,
diversion,
addiction–
addiction to noise,
to distraction
and diversion.
We live for entertaining pastimes,
and have no intention
of meeting what meets us
in the silence,
and dealing with what must be dealt with,
and doing what needs to be done.
We live for the “action, any kind of action,”
that keeps us going
and saves us from the silence
that requires us to face
the truth of who we are
and how it is with us.
We don’t much like ourselves
and do not enjoy our own company–
and seek relief from
all that is so unsatisfactory
about us
in “action, any kind of action!”
Living is like dying,
any way we look at it.
Doing what it takes to be alive
is like dying.
And refusing to do what it takes
to be alive
is like dying.
One way of dying comes with resurrection
attached.
The other way of dying is to be dead
until we die.
I say if we are going to die either way,
we may as well get something out of it,
and go with meeting ourselves in the Silence,
and doing what is required to be alive.
Even though it is like dying,
it is the doorway to life.
Being fully alive,
with life pouring over
spilling out,
is “right there,”
waiting for us to show up
and say,
“We’re looking for action,
Can you help us with that?”
Jim Dollar's Published Works 