Aimlessness does not mean doing nothing. It means not putting something in front of you to chase after. When we remove the objects of our craving and desires, we discover that happiness and freedom are available right here in the present moment.
*The Art of Living.
*Cheng Hao (d. 1085) -
Clouds are thin the wind is light the sun is nearly overhead past the flowers through the willows down along the stream people don't see the joy in my heart they think I'm wasting time or acting like a child
*Red Pine. Dancing with the Dead.
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Being aligned with spirit - our 'inmost self' - will appear confusing to many people. How more so where appearance and productivity are valued foremost? Our relaxed nature, no longer in the chase for more and more, will make us a non-fit but not un-fit. We will be glad to be out of the pursuit. We will see in our pursuit, we became the recipient of the pursuit. In our consumerism, we were being consumed.
Being attuned to our true selves, we are not attached to work or leisure. In either, we embody a quiet gladness, for action arises spontaneously and freely, not governed by social expectations but by the heart. While not so governed, for the common good, in love and compassion, we can play the role of meeting such an expectation.
We are not going outside ourselves to find ourselves through others. Joy arises in this dance of our true being, the being of all beings.
In this freedom, childlikeness arises. Rather than dancing, we realize we are being danced. We are a wave on the ocean. We are a leaf in the wind. We are a raindrop falling from the sky. The chase loses its appeal. Stuff loses its power to deceive. The world becomes our playground. We know the joy of owning nothing... we know we never did. Knowing that is a reason we can enjoy things and non-things so much.
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*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2024. Permission is given to use photographs and writings with credit given to the copyright owner.
*Brian's book is An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The book is a collection of poems Brian wrote based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
