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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.
