Falling
asleep at the end of a long day. Weary and worn, dusty, musty and
tired. Time seems to fall away, and in sleep there is no-one present
to watch its passing. Then a miracle occurs - waking to a fresh new
day. Every day is a fresh new day, but sometimes the freshness isn't
noticed. Every day is a fresh new day, but sometimes we miss it.
Every day is a fresh new day, but some days are fresher than others.
Sometimes there are parts of the previous day left-over, which create
a drag on it. For some there are things that are more important than
the now of being alive. All of the things that we believed were
important, and all of the things that were important to believe. The
yearnings of the future and the disappointments of the past, not to
mention all of the unresolved confusions and dramas that we drag
around. Together they conspire to make the day a bit grey, and create
an unease that hides in the background of all things.
Waking
to a fresh new day. It is slightly cool, and that adds to the
freshness. It is the type of freshness that seems to stave off
stuffyness of the head and eliminate restlessness and discomfort. The
type of freshness that brings with it alertness. The type of
freshness that one would find on the beach on a cold winters day, or
by a lake, or in the mountains at any time of the year. The freshness
of a forest, that stretches as far as the eye can see. The freshness
that comes after a true pause in time. A pause from the bubbling and
babbling listlessness that accompanies the pall of unease that is the
burdensome cargo of mind. The freshness that comes after having
passed beyond the realm of the mundane.
Whether
the restlessness is prominent or the freshness is prominent, stopping
whatever one is doing, wherever one is. Gathering ones-self and
turning ones-self to face whatever it is before you. Whatever it is
that most needs to be seen and done.
On
the freshest of fresh days the things that need to be attended-to
gather together in a queue, and come forward one by one. But on
restless days they buzz around the room like flies - the necessary
things mixed liberally with the irrelevant and irreverent. They all
buzz with a similar volume, and the sound of each one drowns out the
sound of the other, and the sound of the other drowns out the sound
of the one. But of all of the things that need to be done, there is
always one that most needs to be done, and a few subsequent ones.
Identifying and isolating its voice in the crowd, and becoming close
to it. Listening to its needs and requirements and attending to them,
one at a time, each individually as they arise.
Taking
them one by one, the freshness is maintained. So too the swarm of
tasks is lessened, and with practice, those that most need to be done
are addressed and disposed-of. Open all of the doors and windows and
let in the fresh cool air. With all of the doors and windows open,
those things that serve only to be irritants are easily blown away.
The irritants, along with the frivolous and unnecessary - gone. Only
those that are of genuine concern remain.
It
is a fresh new day on planet earth, and yet so many of the brightest
and most brilliant beings are distracted, detained or otherwise
occupied. They are unable to attend to the days activities, being
arrested by their distractions. With these beings diverted,
disassociated and disempowered, there is a form of dizziness that
prevails and spreads to all others. A communal headache. Such is life
in the cave that is the world of form.
On
the walls of the cave shadows appear in the dim light. They seem to
reveal a depth of existence, a link to otherwise unknown places and
parts. They goad and menace anyone who is unfortunate enough to find
themselves in their world.
The
shadows on the caves walls harass and irritate all of the other
beings until the time comes that something really must be done about
them. Even though they are only shadows on the wall, they give rise
to a malaise in the imagination and the mind. In frustration and
desperation one might swat and flail at the air and space around
them. But air and space, light and shadows are not particularly
bothered by being swatted at. Then one might spray various substances
and things into the atmosphere. It is the fragrance of flowers and
fruity things that they least like, and that causes them to run and
hide. The shadows find them frightening and repellent, and of them it
is the lavender that they are most frightened of. It causes them to
lose their tension and ability to adhere. They cannot bear its
fragrance, and the way that it lets light pass freely. Nice as it is,
a spray of lavender might help to rid the caves walls of annoying and
debilitating shadows for a but a while, but this is only a temporary
solution, and something more permanent is required to have them not
come back.
For
a moment, in a fit of frustration and emotion, one might curse at the
first thing that one sees – the moon in the daytime sky. Vomit some
vile invective in that direction. Alas such displays of impotence and
futility really do not help. All they do is wear one out and annoy
the moon. The shadows smirk and gloat and get fatter and fatter.
Although
they have been a big problem for a very long time, there is only one
reason that the shadows have not been swept away and removed from
this earthly field. The one reason is that they weren't popularly
perceived as being a problem. Because of that no-one has seen the
need to devise an effective way of removing them and their influence
from this matrix and paradigm.
No-one
ever asked them to go away and be a pestilence elsewhere. To go away
and find somewhere else to live. No-one ever asked them whether they
need help. No-one ever showed them another way of being. No-one ever
delved into the source of their unfortunate condition, to find out
what was wrong with them, and how to fix them. When they are fixed,
to sever their source of sustenance and carefully arrange conditions
and circumstances so that they do not return.
We
might gather together and build a hospital for them. Make it a tall
hospital lit with pastel lighting, and filled with soft music. Put
the worst of them in sealed compartments from where they cannot
escape until they have mellowed somewhat. With the shadows safely
ensconced there we might quickly assess our world and do whatever is
required to make it uninhabitable to them. Populate all places
everywhere with finely tuned sensibilities and high minded ideas, all
ruled by love and gentleness. It is these that frightens them the
most.
Then
to give our own population the skills needed to navigate their ills.
To completely eradicate the condition that is distress without
insight, pain without resolution and power without compassion. To
spray every nook and cranny with lavender, and fill them with
gentleness, beauty and peace. But the most important and most
difficult thing is to arrange the conditions of clear and
unflinchingly attentive presence in all people. If that can be done
then the other tasks will not be difficult.
If
not, then things will most likely remain as they have always been.
There are always days when the weather is fresh, but not everyone can
partake in that freshness. As it is, there are some who can
experience the freshest of fresh. Those who are lucky can do it
automatically, for it is in their nature. Those who don't experience
it naturally might need to discover the keys to freshness for
themselves. They might find them by accident, they might be given
them as if by chance. They might go out and look for them, find them,
adopt and absorb them. Some unfortunates might be led to the way of
freshness and still not be able to truly make it their own , or they
might just not care– a most sad situation.
Whether
anyone cares or not, each day arises as a fresh new day, ready for
its freshness to be seized and taken advantage of. It is a strange
world, where two people might stand next to each other, and yet have
a very different experience of the same moment. But that is how
things are. If they can meet in freshness, then they might find
themselves to be closer together. Closer together, closer to
themselves, closer to everything.
