What are you leaving out?

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Father Theophane was a Trappist monk at the Catholic monastery in Snowmass Colorado.  He wrote a small, but pithy, enchanting book entitled, Tales of a Magic Monastery.  He lived for decades in this amazing place of raw beauty and nature.  The monastery covers an entire valley, surrounded by pristine mountains, herds of wandering antelope and elk, birds and creatures of many varieties.  There is a tiny hut built into the side of the mountain, far away from the monastery itself, and Father Theo would often go on silent retreats there by himself for months at a time.  On one of these occasions, he recounts that he prayed and meditated deeply for three months. Suddenly a question arose within him, “What am I leaving out?”  He couldn’t find a single answer, yet the question haunted him and became a silent mantra that arose again and again. 

When he finally prepared to leave the isolated hut, he was walking the narrow path back towards the monastery.  At that moment, the sun shined directly on a simple rock on the side of the path.  He bent down and lovingly picked up the rock.  He said, “I apologized to this beautiful rock that I had completely ignored. I stood up, looked around and apologized to all that surrounded me for not being fully present, apologizing not just to that which was beautiful and pleasing, but to everything that was part of that moment.”  What is it that we are leaving out? What are we ignoring or labeling as irrelevant or unworthy of our attention?  How might it change our experience by being aware, open and allowing to all of life, instead of limiting our perspective to only that which we decide might be pleasing while avoiding anything we fear might be uncomfortable?

WE CAN STOP WAITING FOR LIFE TO BEGIN, OR GET “BETTER” OR BE “RIGHT”.  Life is what is happening right now.    In Buddhism, “the Mandala of the Whole” is a metaphor for incorporating all of life into our experience, not just waiting for the “good parts”, and ignoring or avoiding the “bad parts”. Reflect upon your life and recall an event that change the course of your life.  You may have known it at the time or only realized it after the fact.  It might have been a joyful time or a horrific time.  Each moment can provide the fertile ground for growth and understanding.

Dr. Martin Seligman, who wrote Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, has come up with the term Post-Traumatic Growth or PTG, to demonstrate that PTSD is not the only response that human beings have to horrific situations.  There are documented cases where people are able to grow spiritually and find a deeper purpose in their life after an event that was disturbing, disheartening, distressing, even disastrous or horrific. 

Progress on the Spiritual Path

Often, we begin to explore a spiritual practice because of some difficulty or challenge we are experiencing.  We want to “overcome” this obstacle or get beyond it.  Jack Kornfield encourages us that:

 “With the awakening of wisdom, the heart gradually expands to hold the full paradox of life.”  

We often try to define ourselves and our situation in black and white terms.  What if we and the world around us are so complex, that these labels and judgments are exactly what is holding us back from seeing ourselves and the world more holistically? What if the deepest wisdom is actually found in the messiness and complexity?

Natural awareness practice:  We can practice being aware of where we are placing our attention in each moment.  Playfully explore experiencing yourself, and everything and everyone around you more directly--beyond labels, judgments or reference points.  We can all benefit from the practice of seeing the world and our “selves” with neutral curiosity and beginners mind.  There is wisdom to be found in each situation, in each moment.  This practice does NOT translate into being non-responsive (like a doormat), but rather leads to the practice of being wisely responsive.   May all beings be free from suffering; may all beings be happy.