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Sunday Morning (12)
Yesterday I read Bailey’s recent post about health related problems as an interruption in life. It is indeed possible to see health issues, like surgeries, as such.
Then questions might arise. Do others also have this view? Are these interruptions positive or negative? Are they a problem, or a blessing in disguise? The answers might satisfy the mind, both when there is recognition, and even when there is not. I know what she means (I think). But beyond this knowing, there is another layer, and it would handle the situation differently: There are no interruptions in life. This is the “answer” that came to me after reading the question, and I think it is well worth putting this forward as the Sunday Morning contemplation of this week.
Life is an amazing blessing by its very nature. Being Is. It can present as health, sickness and everything in between, surgeries, vacation, work, feelings, exhaustion, obstruction, moving on, questions and answers. But these are just concepts of the mind, things the mind produces as reaction to that what happens, what appears by itself. We believe them into existence and make them personal, and this is a limited reflection of reality. Life has no knowing of this reflection, and it has nothing to do with life as it really is. There are no negatives or positives, there is only this. The sound of the rain needs no translation*.
As said, it is possible to let the mind dwell in the stream of happenings – judging, questioning, wondering, searching for answers. In this personal layer of existence, of consciousness, one can fill a forum, think oneself to be a patient, a reader, a writer, a separate being, and go round and round. There will be reactions, but never true answers. On the other level of consciousness, the level of no-mind, there are no questions. There is stillness, completeness. The fullness of life.
Choosing between getting no answers or having no questions, I prefer the latter. Not personally, but as life itself. We can all experience this layer if we go beyond the mind, and stop translating the sound of the rain.
* Alan Watts in this talk: The world as Just So, series Eastern & Western Zen; probably quoting Zen roshi Morimoto. There is even a song with this title, made by Akira the Don.
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1 Reply
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Paul, once again, I love this. While reading, I was reminded of a conversation I had with an elderly friend of mine years ago. I worked at a credit union and he regularly came in and asked for help with his banking. Throughout the years, we became friends. One day, on a Friday afternoon, I sighed and told him I was anxious for the day to be over. He looked at me and said, “Be careful what you wish for. You’ll wish your whole life away if you’re not careful.”
I’ve thought of that interaction so many times since that day (over 10 years ago). He’s right – and so are you – that everything we experience is life. While I’ve also felt like Bailey and sometimes get frustrated when life doesn’t go the way I wish it would, oftentimes I’m able to come back to this idea and remind myself that this is all part of my existence. The good, the bad, the inconvenient, the beautiful, the breathtaking, the monotonous; they’re all pieces in this grand puzzle called life.
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