In Our Own Element

The following daily meditation was taken from Mark Nepo's The Book of Awakening:

"A fish cannot drown in water. A bird does not fall in air. Each creature God made must live in its own true nature."
-Mechthild of Magdeburg

Somewhere in the Middle Ages in a remote part of Germany, this introspective seer came upon the wisdom that living in our own natural element is the surest way to know the inner prosperity of health, peace, and joy.

Her examples are striking; all we have to do is put the fish in air and the bird in water to see the dangers of being what we are not. Of course, it is very clear and obvious for both the fish and the bird where they belong. Not so for us humans.

Part of the blessing and challenge of being human is that we must discover our own true God-given nature. This is not some noble, abstract quest, but an inner necessity. For only by living in our own element can we thrive without anxiety. And since human beings are the only life form that can drown and still go to work, the only species that can fall from the sky and still fold laundry, it is imperative that we find that vital element that brings us alive.

I vividly recall my struggles as a teenager when my mother wanted me to be a lawyer and my father wanted me to be an architect. Somehow I knew I needed to be a poet; something in it brought me alive. The only one to understand was my boyhood friend Vic, who in the midst of qualifying strongly for pre-med studies, realized he needed to be a florist. For something in working with flowers brought him alive.

This is not about being a poet or a florist or a doctor or a lawyer or an architect. It is about the true vitality that waits beneath all occupations for us to tap into, if we can discover what we love. If you feel energy and excitement and a sense that your life is happening for the first time, you are probably near your God-given nature. Joy in what we do is not an added feature; it is a sign of deep health.

-Mark Nepo

*Image from here.

No Man is an Island

Certainly, you've heard this phrase. My mention of it here was inspired by back and forth commenting between Richard and myself a couple of posts below, here. This phrase is also particularly ringing true in my life right now, as I am feeling incredibly inspired by the opportunity to actively better humanity. And really, we can't fully enjoy the experience of living a fulfilling life unless we first give ourselves completely to it.

In its full origin: "All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." -John Donne (1572-1631) as appearing in Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII.

Essentially, the meaning, as simply (and thus, perfectly) as it is stated on The Phrase Finder, is that "human beings do not thrive when isolated from others." We often feel that we should be able to do it all on our own, that we are inadequate because we don't possess "enough" strengths to do it all. In my own life this burdened notion has plagued my abilities considerably. For so long, I have beaten myself up over the characteristics I don't possess, rather than manifesting those I do. I also have a great tendency to turn inward and can easily isolate myself in thought. But there comes a point in which even I am now aware, that too much isolation and introspection can be unhealthy. We belong to a community for a reason. We are not here to act out our own desires all the time. Anyone who has had a bout of utter selfishness (and really, haven't we all?!) realizes how completely empty it is. I think it is important to look inward but not only so that we should know ourselves better but for the ultimate end of being willing and able to more fully contribute our strengths and character to the collective community.

No man is an island. Think about that phrase. An island. Even a big island is very limited. Without a doubt "successful" people (however you personally define that word) do not achieve such success entirely on their own. The support and encouragement of others made their success possible. It is ridiculous to esteem Donald Trump or Michael Jordan solely because they worked hard to develop themselves. Their success is due in large to the fact that they effectively utilized the talents of others, they relied on support and encouragement from others, and called upon role models for inspiration and resilience. It reminds me of the history of the yeoman farmer, particularly in the Appalachians. Each of these freeholding farmers had their own particular expertise in a specific crop/farm/ability. They lived in clusters so as to benefit from one another's expertise. A dairy farmer, a sheep herder, a blacksmith, seamstress, etc. They each manifested their abilities to not only make a living for themselves but so as to effectively participate in a community. This made each member of the community immensely valuable.

Now there is undeniably this fierce value of individualism. So often, society expects the impoverished to bootstrap themselves out of their situation, as though these impoverished people have all the means and opportunities that we do. Think for a minute...what if the coffee growers in Brazil or the dairy farmers in America stopped producing, regardless of government or corporate intervention? We may not realize, but we rely on the efforts and expertise of others for almost everything we have. We also may not full realize that these people are often exploited for our benefit. But it doesn't have to be this way. And I am not saying that awaress of such requires that we relinquish our individual hopes and desires altogether. But why can't we help one another achieve such? Isn't it much easier to build a house with the help of others?

Collective consciousness is key. But we must first, as individuals raised in a society that esteems individualism, establish an individual awareness that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. And that something, humanity, must be nurtured above all else. We cannot realize our full potential in isolation.

Perfection

"Listen well, dear friend, listen well! The sinner that I am and that you are is a sinner, but someday he will be a Brahmin again, some day he will achieve Nirvana, he will be a Buddha. And now listen: This 'someday' is an illusion, is merely a metaphor! The sinner is not on the way to becoming a Buddha, he is not involved in a development, although our thinking cannot imagine things in any other way. No, the sinner now and today, already contains the future Buddha, his future is fully here; you must worship the sinner, in you, in everyone, the developing, the possible, the hidden Buddha.

"The world, my friend, Govinda, is not imperfect or developing slowly toward perfection. No, the world is perfect at every moment, all sin already contains grace, all youngsters already contain oldsters, all babies contain death, all the dying contain eternal life. It is not possible for any man to see how far along another man is on his way; Buddha is waiting in robbers and dicers, the robber is waiting in the Brahmin. In deep meditation it is possible to eliminate time, to see all past, all present, all developing life as coexisting, and everything is good, everything perfect, everything is Brahma.

"This is why that which is seems good to me, death seems like life, sin seems like saintliness, cleverness like foolishness, everything must be like that, everything needs only my assent, only my willingness, my loving agreement; it is good for me like that, it can never harm me. In my body and in my soul I realized that I greatly needed sin, I needed lust, vanity, the striving for goods, and I needed the most shameful despair to learn how to give up resistance, to learn how to love the world, to stop comparing the world with any world that I wish for, that I imagine, with any perfection that I think up; I learned how to let the world be as it is, and to love it and to belong to it gladly."

-Herman Hesse, Siddhartha

You Could be Happy...

Is happiness a mood or a state of absolute being?

When we are asked whether or not we are happy, I think most of us respond according to our current mood. It's no wonder we feel bipolar most of the time, swinging from what we assume is happiness to what we assume is misery. It is my belief that we confuse pleasure with happiness. We chase moments of pleasure, thinking that it is actually happiness we are after. So, when the pleasure wears off, we often convince ourselves that we are miserable and seek out that next moment of pleasure and the next. But pleasure is fleeting...it is a moment of satisfaction or enjoyment. It comes, and with it, a seeming high. But it is not lasting and thus, it is not really fulfilling. The initial excitement of a new love, a new purchase, an exhilarating amusement ride, a massage. All come with a thrill (to varying degrees) but the effect soon wears off and it can leave us feeling empty.

Are you chasing pleasure or happiness in life? It seems to me that many people confuse the two for the entirety of their lives. I certainly did until just recently in my life and even now, I need to constantly remind myself of the disparity between the two, as I still find myself chasing pleasure as though it were happiness.

The same seems true of melancholy and misery/depression. Melancholy is often confused as being misery. But melancholy is so beautiful and so distinct from misery. I was watching this special on PBS with Sting. He was discussing his album, Songs from the Labyrinth, and he said that many people have labeled it as depressing. But Sting eloquently distinguished melancholy from depression. Depression is a medical condition. Melancholy comes about through self-reflection and there is a beautiful sadness in that. "Inspired melancholy," he says, is cathartic and inspiring.

In Buddhism, the first of The Four Noble Truths is "Life is Suffering." This has profoundly stuck with me since I came across it many years ago...this notion of life as suffering. But I don't see it as depressing or miserable whatsoever. There is a tremendous beauty in accepting suffering, and without suffering I don't see how we could fully appreciate life.

This is the life we are given. As far as we are aware...this is the ONE life we are given. How do you want to spend it? Accepting suffering and death does not relegate a person to depression or misery. We all have the potential to be happy. And happiness can coexist with individual trials and tribulations, mistakes and failings. Although achieving happines may seem like a daunting life ambition, I don't think that happiness is so complex or demanding. I believe that it is ever-present...it only requires our consent.

Hero

I have heroes on the brain these days. This is due entirely to Manifesting Jack's own soul searching with regard to heroes, in his quest to publish his book and emerge as a great alternative to our traditional concept of a self-help guru.

In reading Jack's consideration of heroes, I realized that I do not consciously rely on heroes...nor have I really given much thought to who my heroes might be. Immediately, Joseph Campbell and the Dalai Lama come to mind. They both inspire me and transcend the limitations of attaching themselves to a narrow perspective (i.e. one supreme religion). But before I get ahead of myself, I have to really look at what "hero" means to me. What traits would lend to my conception of a hero? Defintely the following:

-integrity
-humility
-compassion for humanity (truly regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. and all differences)
-wisdom (steeped in various experience, knowledge, and good judgment as a result)
-bliss (true happiness with themselves and life)
-generosity
-capacity for selflessness (cultivates themself but is highly considerate and altruistic)
-humble beginnings (as Jack pointed out in his consideration, it is difficult to esteem someone to the level of hero when they inherited much of their opportunities, rather than earning them by merit)
-positive influence (must be leaving/have left a positive influence)
-inspiring (inspire others to be the happiest and best individuals they can possibly be)

I think that is a good start. And re-reading the list makes me wonder why heroes get so romanticized as these larger-than-life beings, when really, a hero embodies simple and realistically achievable traits. And I definitely romanticize things in general as a dreamer. But really, a hero for me does not possess superhuman traits.

What traits do you think a hero embodies and who would you name as your heroes?