Drive the bus to excellence

Dawn dawns, and all things go on, as usual. This is the way of things. It is not meant to be ugly, or controlling. It just is. If, when we walk down the street, there is nothing to think about, then is the street still a street? It is not thought of; it just is. A street. A journey path. An awakening to a newness that only comes without thought. Clouds roll. Wind blows. And in your experience, you want for other things… for the wind not to blow, or for the clouds not to block the sun. There is no sense in these thoughts of other things, for they only cause pain. Lack. Nothing of any use can come from them. How else does one think of ways of being in the world without useless thoughts? By hope of better things?

No. It is by belief.

By trust. Exuberant trust. Trust beyond all things possible and into the next millennium. Trust lays a bed out that is soft and welcoming and warm. It is the fear of lack of safety that is the enemy of trust. And trust is the stronger of the two. For it opens up the life experience to limitless… Absolutely limitless possibilities. With trust, all things become possible. Trust will drive the bus to excellence. The bus that does not know where it is going, and knows that it will eventually arrive somewhere. It trusts so much that it does not matter. There is no anxiety. No fear. No lack. Only openness to each and every moment.

“Oh. Here we are. Look at the view! See the present! Eat some delicious food. And rest and see what comes next.”

Trusting that there is only safety and security and compassion and presence. You say this trust is too difficult to find. We say it is not to be found, for it was never lost. Where is the deepest root of trust? It must be within, for it cannot come from without.

Nothing to gain; nothing to lose

Do you feel as though you are running a race? That somehow, if you could just accomplish, gain, or achieve some worldly goal, that you could finally relax and be happy?

I remind you that on this playing field, where you perceive yourself (The One) to be manifold and separate, there is nothing to be gained, accomplished, nor achieved. Only remembered.

I invite you to ask yourself, what is mine? Is that car in the driveway mine? The day will come when it will deteriorate, cease to function, and no longer be of ‘value’ the way it is now. It is temporary. Finite. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Therefore, it is unreal.

When does this sandwich become ‘mine’? After I pay for it? After I make it with my own hands? After I eat it? It becomes part of this physical body, so certainly it must be ‘mine’, right?

No. Not only do we eliminate waste from the physical body, but the molecules of the human body are constantly being replaced, themselves. Everything we have is on loan. We are simply stewards. Even of these physical bodies. Especially of these physical bodies.

You mistake yourself to be the human body. Then you mistake yourself to be that which serves the human body. (Fashion. Status.) Then you fear losing what is ‘yours’. When, in reality, nothing is yours. And everything is yours.

On this playing field, you perceive nine players. But you are actually all of them. You are the team. And the field. There is only One, and you are that One. Not “you” as your small mind perceives, but the true You: the heart. The Source of Love.

Again, I remind you: this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with religious belief. With cults. Or with any system of leadership or followership on the planet. This is not a call to arms against anyone or anything.

As there appear to be 7 billion lives on this planet, so let there appear to be 7 billion journeys on 7 billion separate paths, all of which lead home, back to the undeniable, unshakable truth: What appears to be 7 billion separate lives is actually a manifestation of One Life.

Live the life that is right for you, remembering that there is no “other.”

Follow the spiritual path that feels right for you (including none at all), remembering that ‘separate’ is actually an illusion.

Do the work that makes your heart sing, remembering that each face is a facet of the same diamond.

Engage in the struggles, triumphs, defeats, and sacrifices with all of your passion, remembering always that it’s happening in a dream from which you will awaken. Guaranteed.

Look inward, and seek those blind spots in your life, in your personality — those places where the small mind keeps you on edge, restless, uncertain, unhappy, stagnant, and complacent. Find these voices in you that say, “I love this; I hate that.” “I’m better than him; I’m not as good as him.” “I am right; they are wrong.”

Recognize these voices for what they are: aspects of the small mind, where the ego resides.

Remember also that the intellect is a tool, like a monkey wrench. When it’s time to do your taxes, or go shopping for food, the intellect is a valuable tool.

Need to work on some nuts and bolts? Monkey wrench is a great tool for the job.

But when we forget that the intellect was designed to be in the service of the heart, then we create our own suffering. It’s like making the monkey wrench the boss. Like trying to use a monkey wrench to hammer nails… to cut wood… to mop up water.

We end up beating ourselves over the head, trying desperately to get ahead, and wondering why we’re so unhappy all the time.

So, to review:

Step One: Get quiet and listen to your heart. There’s no gaining or losing anything real in this plane of existence. Use your talents to be of service in the world. Give love freely. When in doubt, focus on gratitude.

Step Two: Use your intellect in service to your heart.

Step Three: Relax. Your True Self can never be injured, threatened, nor killed.

Smile. Love. And remember.

Zen and the art of receiving gifts graciously

I don’t know about you, but I grew up hearing that it was better to give than to receive.

In fact, the way I learned it as a child, anyone receiving a gift without offering something in return was suspect. Selfish. Greedy. I realized quickly WHY it was better to give than receive: because then the other guy owes you one.

As a result, I’ve spent the better part of my life making sure that when it came to favors, I was always ‘even’. That way nobody could pin me down: “You’re just taking advantage of others!” Nope. Not me. In fact, I won’t LET anyone give me anything without reciprocating.

Talk about a head trip.

I’m learning that there’s more to it than my initial ‘black and white’ interpretation could contain. I have a good friend who has been lending me her bass and amp for the past few months. Last night while we were having dinner with them, she told me that she had decided to give me her bass and amp as a gift.

At that point, I had two choices.

One, offer her money for it. That would get me out of the bind of having to accept a gift and ‘owe’ someone. It would also kill any joy she might have had in seeing my face light up with delight at the thought of adding a bass to the musical toolbox.

Two, accept her gift graciously. From my old, ‘black and white interpretation’ standpoint, this was dangerous. But here in the land of the heart, where colors blend together in a beautifully human and messy way, it was actually the most loving response I could offer. It’s basically a way of saying, “I accept your gift. I accept your generosity. I accept your love.”

When someone accepts my love graciously, that’s the moment when the joy of giving washes over me the strongest.

Now I realize that there’s no time to waste with my old interpretation of the world, the one that demands that I protect myself and cover my ass by avoiding someone’s generosity. Someone’s love. Contrary to what I used to believe, it does not make me ‘a good guy’, ‘a fair and honest person’, nor a ‘martyr’. All it does is reinforce feelings of fear and distrust within me. And it’s a slap in the face to the person who opened his heart by offering the gift.

In fact, it’s a little ploy that many of us use on a daily basis to try to ignore the fact that we are all truly interconnected.

“Let’s pretend that there exists a separate “me”, independent of all living beings. That my position in the world and all of my successes are solely the result of my merit. Let’s make believe that all of my accomplishments and achievements are completely the result of my own efforts. That I’m not woven into the fabric of humanity; I simply observe it. In this ocean, I’m a drop of water that moves and acts independently of all others.”

When, in reality, simply opening our eyes reveals that we truly are all interconnected. There is no separate “me”. There never was. A bird sitting on a branch dies and falls to the ground. A flower blossoms in the daylight. Miraculous. And completely ordinary.

I wish I’d known this as a child… that receiving something graciously is a way of honoring the giver, and does not make me a bad person.

And now every time I play that bass, I can think of my friend, who gave it to me from a place of love. And I can smile. That joy can spill out into the music. Through the music. Interconnection.

How about you, Fellow Artist? How does giving and receiving influence your art?