Life is like that!
You do one thing well… and you fake all the rest.
What is the one thing you do really well? One that when you are at it, time flies and you are energized even when struggling to make it worthwhile?
Once I saw a surf documentary sponsored by Billabong. It was an awesome film, these surfers were looking around the world for the perfect wave. They didn’t go looking for the biggest or the most fearsome wave, but went on a quest for the “perfect” wave. You can only discern the difference if it is in your area of expertise. For outsiders, the perfect wave would be the biggest, or the one on the most beautiful beach, or whatever. For a lover of surf, it is the wave that can bring out the best connection between the surfer and nature, the surge, the joy, the ride, all flows in harmonious synchronicity; however, they were professionals, so the wave they were looking for would be fearsome to most of us.
@hidroimagen at Pinterest
How can I tell if these surfers were doing the one perfect thing for them at that particular moment? Because they were doing what they loved and Billabong was picking up the tab!
I remember when once I was talking to my novice master in the monastery, he said it is not enough to feel the call for the monastic call, all in your surrounding must be in sync with it. For example, in monastic life you may have a strong call to surrender your life to the pursuit of God in silence and solitude, but if you are in the middle of a divorce or have small children that depend on you for their emotional and economic sustainment, you don’t have a call, he would say. So, for us all, keep that fire burning and see where it leads you, the world just might conspire to help you attain it.
“Follow your bliss” is important, but it’s not enough.
You are being called to adventure
The amazing proposal of CG Jung that the Self urges us in our interests to advance towards our Self Realization, is an awesome idea. Why am I interested in certain topics and not in others? Why does it push me towards this or that? What does it say about who I can become?
We generally do not know.
Greeks called the force of attraction Eros. It was a powerful energy that pulled us towards a subject, enticing our perception with its object. But how we relate to the object we are attracted to can make all the difference.
Some people are like bees, they keep stopping at every attractive flower. They go from one interest to another, never staying long enough to figure out why they were attracted. They miss out on the interaction derived from the relation of the object of their attraction and knowing themselves through it. Other times they may dismiss it because of cultural bias or fear for what the “relation” will demand.
Others may be attracted to something that lures their attention and so they seek it. They listen to as many videos or podcasts as they can and read a couple of books on the subject. They begin to relate to the subject of their attraction and deepen their knowledge of it but fail to integrate it into their lives. At the end it was a way to show off with others and it turns out it was a superficial relationship with the object of their attraction.
What could happen if when attracted to something you courted it, let it seduce you, related to it as if you wanted to find out what attracted you to it in the first place? What if you allowed it to teach you what is important and not shy from what you need to learn to make it become part of your life?
Bessi @Pixabay
To some, surfing is a sport, but to the surfers that produced the Billabong documentary it is something they have made into a life-sustaining relationship. They probably didn’t know a thing about filmmaking, nor did they know anything else but surfing. Believe me, they had to stretch their talent outside the surfboard to accomplish that. Of course, they could hire camera men and producers, but then how long would the streak last? They worked very hard to gain the financial support of Billabong, and most likely the company found an ally for more than just one documentary.
That is the relation you can find when you follow your bliss and work darn hard to court and seduce it to a point you can obtain sustainment from it.
Let us be humble so it lasts.
My teacher and mentor, Stuart Horn used to say, if you want to be a philosopher read one book throughout your whole life. Depth can only be achieved if you keep trying to go deeper. Depth of thought can only be achieved if you experience and act on what you think; it is a relation between ideas and action that makes a ladder that goes down to your cellar. If you go down enough times so that you are comfortable being there, then you are ready to go further down.
If you think it’s you who has done this: become interested in whatever opened the door to your cellar, or created the ladder to climb down, you are in for a surprise… you are going to fall, and you will do so precipitously. Something is calling you to an adventure, you are in as a passenger. The Self in you is the leading guide.
In the play Hamlet, his friend Horatio tells him that his father’s ghost is appearing in a watch tower. The Prince of Denmark goes to see for himself. When he sees the ghost, the specter calls on him: “remember me”, and then flees; the prince follows. We go about our business, wake up, go to work, watch a series and then one day in the street, BAM something calls on you and attracts your attention. Maybe someone looked at you and you froze, or you saw a kind gesture, or a recognition from a fellow worker, whatever, it was something that stopped you in your tracks. That is the call, that is Eros, that is your Self calling on you to adventure. Follow it!
Go after it and uncover who you can be if you follow it. The You worth your salt is hidden in the quest. No one can tell you how to follow it… you must figure it out yourself.
Quest for the Holy Grail
A vision of the Holy Grail was shown to the chevaliers when assembled at the round table. After, King Arthur bids the knights to start a quest for it. The instructions were simple, the knight must seek the Grail alone. It is Sir Gawain who decides not to follow any trail and enter the forest in the thickest part.
If a knight were to follow a trail, even one left by another knight who did find the Grail, the one that took the trail would be lost. Do not mistake the reason why you were born, it wasn’t to grow and multiply, it is to find out why you were born. Figure out what is your greatest aim, your highest ideal and make your best efforts to make it become a reality in your life. Your work, your relationships and everything else should point you in that direction; if not, you may easily get lost and you will find yourself at the middle or at the end of your life not knowing what it all meant.
“The Failure of Sir Launcelot to Enter the Chapel of the Holy Grail,” number 3 of the Holy Grail tapestries
You may never get to the ideal. The ultimate ideal is not there for you to get to it, it is there for you to transform who you are in the quest towards it. If you are faithful and determined you will be a better spouse, parent and all other relations that matter in your life. You will be plentiful in every way you can be in one lifetime.
@fleminvg at Pinterest
If you want Life to love you and be good to you, you must love her first. Don’t shy away when she is hard, don’t give her your back when she didn’t give you what you wanted. Be open to disappointments, harsh treatment and accept kindness and sweetness when it comes. In time you will grow strong and resilient, you will be able to love no matter what. Because Love is a decision not a feeling, and it is the main reason you were born, to fuse with what pulls you to follow towards Wonder.
Coming next Wednesday
Towards the Flame
No matter how much darkness has befallen a person, there is always fire at the bottom.
