Category: Uncategorized Page 5 of 7

 

 

When I look through my Facebook homepage and see all the funny, smart status updates my friends make, I sometimes feel a bit intimidated. I can’t come up with this great stuff on a daily basis. All I can do is share statuses and maybe make a brief comment or two. Sometimes I’ll post a quotation or something; I just can’t find all that personal info to share. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to mention that I’m going out for sushi or I’m rolling up quarters to take to the bank. I guess I’m very limited on
Facebook and the other social media sites I frequent. I put out whatever personal stuff I feel on these blog posts and on my website – perhaps especially in books I write.

That’s just the Path I’m on.

Most people have heard about this concept of a Path through life. It is often mentioned that there are 3 aspects to it: find the Path, know the Path and walk the Path. Less frequently, you might hear about other aspects of the Path: first you come to understand that a Path actually exists; then you seek out different Paths until you find the one that resonates with you; then you learn about and explore the Path – get to know it; then you walk the Path and make the journey part of your life; and eventually, after rigorous effort, you BECOME the PATH and others follow your footsteps.

I suppose the Path I’m on is kind of unique – at least I’m not familiar with many people on it. I’ve certainly had many, many teachers – what I call teachers of the moment – but there is no one that has carved out a full Path for me to follow. I seem to exist in something like a tropical rainforest or jungle.

I suspect that others have gone before me; that somewhere in this primordial forest there might be a lost city or some ancient temple or at least a road leading out of the roughage. But if such a thing still remains it appears to be long covered over with vegetation. It seems that I am tramping through the vast underbrush alone; hacking away at the rough country like a machete; revealing, slowly, some sort of long forgotten trail that might have been used in ancient days.

Like a machete I open up a narrow road that can be travelled by some intrepid souls. Alone, I carve out this unique Path, unconcerned about who might follow me, seeking always for the way out of the jungle and moving to what I hope is the open field of Enlightenment.

Perhaps some will follow me now. And perhaps it will not be till many years after I am gone that some will find the walkway made with this machete and use it to travel out of the dark, overgrown jungle and into the Light at the edge of the forest and beyond.

The machete does not make a smooth and clean road way. Other tools and temperaments are needed to pave the ground and build up the rest stops needed by weary travellers – to clear away the debris of obstacles and impediments to the journey. Other tools are needed to supply markers and maps and guideposts for those seekers of spiritual adventure. The machete hacks out only the roughest of paths, a trail for those who long for the Light but are not afraid to venture through dark and lonely terrain.

It’s fun to post pithy status updates on Facebook and connect with people in a jovial, whimsical manner and a machete does have a razor sharp edge that can be used sometimes for the subtle dissection of reality. But mostly it is a tool that hacks and chops at the wild, unwanted weeds and foliage and leaves just enough of a walkway for those explorers desperate enough to brave passage through an untamed landscape.

 

 

 

One day a tired, old donkey was strolling around his farm. His only concern was his tired old bones and his stiff muscles. He wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going when he suddenly stumbled and fell down into a dried up well.

The animal was terrified and began to bray and cry pitifully. The old farmer, hearing the poor donkey cry, rushed to see what the matter was. He looked down the old well and saw the poor beast, helplessly crying way down at the bottom. The farmer tried to think of some way to get the donkey out of the well, but he was old and weak himself and just could not do it. The donkey, of course, could offer no suggestions. All he could do was bray and plead for help.  After a few hours, the farmer regretfully came to a decision. He decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to save the poor, old donkey.

He got a shovel and started throwing dirt down into the well intending to just fill it up and bury the donkey at the same time.

The donkey began to cry even louder. But the old farmer shut his ears to the sound and continued shoveling dirt into the well.

After a while, some neighbors came by to see what was happening. The farmer explained the situation and the neighbors decided to help. They didn’t try to help get the donkey out of the well; they decided instead to help bury the poor beast and stop its pitiful wailing. The neighbors each got shovels and joined the farmer in throwing dirt into the well.

The poor donkey, realizing what was being done, began to cry even more. But the people convinced of their righteousness, shut their ears to the donkey’s cries and continued to heap dirt upon him.

And then something changed.

To everyone’s amazement, the poor old donkey quieted down. Some people, if they thought about it at all, thought that the donkey had just resigned himself to his fate and was preparing to die. But this was not the case. Something far more meaningful was happening in that well.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well, perhaps expecting the donkey to be covered with dirt. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel ­full of earth that hit the donkey’s back, the donkey was doing something amazing.

It looked kind of like a dance. The donkey would shake the dirt off his back and take a little step up onto it. With each shovel full of dirt that fell, the donkey would give a little shake and then step up onto the dirt that hit the ground.

Pretty soon the dirt was actually filling up the well and not covering the donkey.

 

And then, to everyone’s amazement, there was enough dirt in the well for the donkey to climb up over the edge, and trot away as fast as his tired old bones could take him.

What is the moral of this story?

If you come up with a right answer, a switch might just go off in your soul and enlighten you.

 

 

Two monks set out on a journey to a far off monastery.  The older monk was very experienced and knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor. The younger monk, though not so experienced, had a sincere desire to learn and grow in his spiritual practice.

The monks enjoyed each other’s company and had a pleasant time discussing all the new and wonderful things they saw as they walked to their destination.

After a few days, they came to a river. There was no bridge in sight, so the monks walked along the bank trying to figure out the best place to cross.

As they studied the river, they suddenly noticed a woman running towards them from out of the nearby forest. Her hair was disheveled, her make-up was smeared and her dress was torn. It was clear to both monks that she was in some difficulty. It was also clear to them that she was a woman with, what might be called, a shady past.

She rushed up to the monks and immediately started pleading with them.

“Please, venerable monks, help me. I must get across the river.”

The young monk turned away and pretended to ignore her. But the old monk, without a second thought, picked her up and carried her across the river. On the other side he put her down and she went on her way. The young man, though unburdened, took a bit more time to cross. When he got to the other side he would not make eye contact with his friend and became very sullen and quiet.

The old monk let the young man have his space and together they continued on the journey. But it was no longer a pleasant experience for either of them. There was no conversation and there was no more sense of camaraderie.

After a few days, they came in sight of their destination.

“I cannot keep silent anymore,” said the young monk. “I must tell you how I feel.”

“Do so,” said the old monk.

“You did something wrong.”

“Oh,” said the old monk. “Tell me what I did wrong so that I might correct it or at least apologize for the offence I caused.”

“That woman we met at the river – what you did with her was wrong.”

“Please explain,” said the old monk.

“We are monks. We have taken vows. We are not permitted to even think about women – especially women like her – and we are certainly not allowed to touch a woman. By picking her up and carrying her you did a great wrong.”

“I see,” said the old monk. “You are correct. By picking up that woman I broke my vows. However, I put her down on the other side of the river, a few minutes later, and released my burden. It seems you have been carrying that woman in your heart ALL THIS TIME.”

 

 

Once there was a very pious and faithful man.  He had absolute trust in God and always tried to be an upright and honorable person.

One day he learned that a great storm was on its way and the town would be flooded. The people of the town all prepared to evacuate; but the man was unconcerned.

“I have always been a good and honorable man,” he said. “I live by faith in God. I have no need to fear because I know that God will save me. “

As the people left the town, the man watched and waited for the flood to come.

Soon the storm came and the streets began to fill up with water. The man watched the wind and rain with excitement, marveling at God’s wondrous power.

A large truck full of refugees drove by, almost floating in the flooded streets. When the people saw the man standing calmly in his doorway, they stopped and called to him.

 

“Hurry and get into the truck. The storm is getting worse. Get into the truck and we’ll take you to safety.”

But the man only smiled and said, “Don’t worry about me. I have faith in God. I will be alright. God will save me.”

Because the flood waters were rising, the truck could not remain. It drove away leaving the man behind.

As the storm continued to rage, the waters forced the man up to his second floor balcony, where he continued to watch the storm.

The wind and rain sent debris floating past the house. A boat with a few more refugees in it came into sight. The people noticed the man and called out to him.

“Why are you still here? Hurry and get into the boat and we will take you to safety.”

But the man only smiled and said, “Don’t worry about me. I have faith in God. I will be alright. God will save me.”

The waves threatened to sink the boat and it could not remain. The boat moved away leaving the man behind.

As the storm continued to rage and the waters rose higher and higher, the man went up to his rooftop.

He stood with the water up to his chest and watched the storm.

In the air, pummeled by the wind and rain, a helicopter was making a final sweep of the town before it was completely covered in water. The people in the helicopter saw the man standing on the roof and flew over to him. It was difficult to control the aircraft in the storm, but the pilot tried to keep it steady while a ladder was lowered to the man.

“What are you still doing here?” the pilot shouted. “Grab the ladder and get into the helicopter. This is your last chance. Get up here and we’ll take you to safety.”

But the man only smiled and said, “Don’t worry about me. I have faith in God. I will be alright. God will save me.”

The helicopter, battered by wind and rain, was unable to stay. It flew away leaving the man behind.

 

Soon the flood completely engulfed the man and he drowned.

And he went up to Heaven because he was a good and pious man and God welcomed him.

The man stood before God and said, “Lord, I don’t understand. I have always been a good and pious man and have had faith in you my whole life. Lord, in my time of need why did you abandon me? Why did you not save me from the flood?”

And God said, “My son, I don’t understand your attitude.

 

 

Did I not send a truck, a boat and a helicopter to save you?”

 

Once there was a big frog that lived in a large well.

He was a happy frog, content with his home and proud of his role as master of the big well. He was always ready to boast and brag about the vastness of his domain.

 

Now, one day, his cousin from the sea shore came to visit.

The big frog said, “What do you think of my well? Isn’t it magnificent?”

“Yes,” said the cousin frog, “It’s very nice.”

“Very nice?!” said the big frog. “Surely you’ve never seen a body of water as big as my well.”

“Oh,” said the cousin frog, “it is very large, indeed, but I come from the sea, you understand, so I have seen large bodies of water before.”

“What is this ‘sea’ you speak of? Is it very big?”

“Oh yes,” said the cousin frog, ‘it is very, very big.”

The big frog pondered this for a moment and then said, “This sea of yours, you say it is large – is it about a quarter the size of my big well?”

“Oh,” said the cousin frog, “it is much bigger than that.”

The big frog thought for a moment and then said, “Do you mean it is about half the size of my big well?”

“Oh,” said the cousin frog, “it is much, much bigger than that.”

“Now look here,” said the big frog, “do you mean this sea of yours is just as big as my big well?”

“Oh,” said the cousin frog, “it is much, much bigger than your well. It is the sea. It is vast.”

The big frog pondered this information in silence for a moment and then shook his head.

“This,” he said, “I cannot believe. Surely nothing is bigger than my well. I must look at this body of water for myself. Take me to your sea.”

And so the frogs set off for the sea shore, which was quite a distance away.

And when they got there, the big frog looked around and said, “Now, cousin frog, where is this ‘sea’ you spoke of? Where is this vast body of water larger than my well?”

The cousin frog smiled and pointed out past the sand. “There,” he said, “there is the sea. All of this is water as far as the eye can perceive – all the way to the edge of the world.”

The big frog looked out at the water. He tried to focus and concentrate and make sense of what he was seeing, but his mind seemed to freeze and all he could do was look out at the vastness without any understanding of what was there.

Then slowly his eyes began to bulge as he stared at the vastness of the water.

His body began to shake and, suddenly, without warning, his head just exploded.

 

With all the current so-called social uprisings in places like Egypt and Brazil getting media coverage, it is easy for many people to come to believe that militant action is justified and effective. There is a strong perception forming that good wars should be fought and will be successful and only bad wars need be avoided. This is a tragic fallacy. There are certainly good motives for action – however, wars and revolutions are only initiated for one reason – economic gain. No war, revolution, militant movement or uprising can be maintained without financial backing. War is an investment and no one with substantial resources is going to invest in something that has no potential for strong returns. You can be sure that the protests in Egypt were not started by the poor or down trodden masses, but by a segment of the influential elite who were looking for opportunities to promote their own interests. People will definitely benefit from a change in leadership and it will definitely NOT be the common people.

In the past, wars have been fought under the banner of liberation –but who was being liberated? And how long did the liberation last? Realistically, it makes little difference to the poor who they pay taxes to – only the well-off notice a difference in their life-style. Banners, slogans and ideology are used as tools to justify warfare. The common people, brainwashed by centuries of rhetoric, accept the idea that wars are sometimes fought for freedom or to liberate the people from tyranny – they site revolutionary wars and peasant uprisings or foreign wars to eliminate evil dictators as examples of this kind of “good war.”

If wars were actually fought for these reasons, there would be some validity to the suggestion that good wars are possible. However, no war has ever been fought for any reason other than economic gain. Peasants, serfs, slaves, the downtrodden masses – none of these ever make war. Wars are started by people who have an interest in expanding their own income base. They might indeed stir up the masses to join them and spout one ridiculous cause or another as their motive – but war is a rich man’s game. Perception of warfare has more to do with the level of dishonesty of the combatants. If warrior chiefs are honest, they are fighting for money and power, and not for justice, freedom, equality or religious ideals.  People start wars only for monetary gain. The current string of public protests around the world is no exception – such actions could not be maintained without support of at least a segment of the State. The world would barely have been aware of the Egyptian protests if not for the military backing. Is anyone naïve enough to believe that the Generals in this action have the best interests of the people at heart?

In earlier times, there was more honesty about the true motives for war. Barbarous hordes, Vikings, and marauders of all races plundered the world for gold – It was simple.  In the history of open warfare – Egyptians vs. Hittites, Persians vs. Greeks, or Rome vs. the world – the motives were clear and all the same – nations fought for economic gain, to expand trade routes, to bring more resources to their countries, to increase the king’s coffers in plunder, taxes, and tribute.

Perhaps the policy of dissembling in warfare began with the Crusades and the actions leading up to them. The Crusades had little if anything to do with religion – the Crusades were fought on both sides to promote and protect mercantile interests. The movement of goods and services between East and West and the profits gained through the movement were the only real issues at stake. The wars were about trade routes. The Roman Catholic led forces were just as likely to raid and pillage Eastern Christian cities as they were Muslim strong holds.  Control of the roads and seaways and access to Asian markets was the only goal. The Muslims had this control and were not willing to trade fairly with Europe. Now few men would willingly die so that their king could wear silk and use pepper spice – but they would die for the glory of God. And thus the God card was played by both forces. But God had nothing to do with this long series of conflict.

Look at the history of the legendary Knights Templar. Their stated aim was to protect pilgrims as they journeyed to the Holy Land. But the Knights became fabulously wealthy providing safe passage for merchants and developing modern banking methods for transferring funds from country to country. This and not heavenly glory was their prize. And when the Knights became powerful enough to challenge the establishment, they were crushed and their wealth confiscated.

The Crusades were purely an economic enterprise but the Big Lie about Holy War and freeing sacred lands from the control of Infidels has persisted. Why? Because people want to believe it. They don’t want to believe that men are going off to die for the cause of making their leader wealthy. They want to believe that their deaths will somehow make the world a better place – Or at least that their sacrifice will make them famous and memorable.

Napoleon came to this realization in his own wars of conquest. He observed that “men will die for ribbons.” The chance to win a medal will inspire a man to all kinds of bravery bordering on the stupid. Convincing people that dying in war makes them important is a frightful deception. Religions and Nationalists use this deception all the time. It is an evil lie.

Thankfully, people are waking up to this deception. It is a slow process but people are starting to see that dying for some corporate expansion is not a good idea. And dying in a foreign war is the stupidest idea ever.

 

I believe there are things worth dying for and I believe that people should struggle against their oppressors and seek to liberate themselves, and I support people who are willing to take a stand and march off to face some perceived evil and do battle with it – this is why when the media shows images of multitudes rising up in protest anywhere in the world there is a swelling of human pride at the sight, or when a statute of some hated dictator is toppled over a shout of joy rises to our lips.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the only so-called “successful’ uprisings are those that have the backing of equally ruthless and ambitious individuals and collectives.  No uprising can succeed without the backing of some faction of the State. Just as no massive evil, such as genocide, can be carried out without the backing of the State. And the STATE – politicians, bankers, corporations, religious organizations – must gain a substantial benefit from the investment of support in any action.

 

People are waking up to this reality. Hopefully, the time will soon come when false altruism will be rejected and people will realize that violent upheavals do not produce real change. Trading one greedy dictator for another is not real change. You still end up with the same phoney leadership. Remember the words of the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” – ‘meet the new boss; same as the old boss.” Wake up and make war no more.

The other day I was stopped in the street by someone asking for money. They were collecting for UNICEF, a fine charity, but still I don’t like this new policy of aggressive solicitation adopted by charities. I understand these groups want more money and need to come up with new ways of getting it. Everyone wants more money these days – Even I want more money.

But here’s my question: Why does everyone want MY money? Why am I expected to pay for everyone’s plans and projects? The government wants my money; corporations want my money; the rich want my money; the poor want my money – it goes on and on. Why am I targeted?

I guess I represent a specific economic unit once known as “the Middle Class.” In this New World Order that has grown up around us, the job of the Middle Class seems to be to work its ass off for the sake of the rest of the world – rich and poor alike. But we seem to have no say at all in how our support is distributed or used.

My day job is not that different from most people’s in my economic class. My income has been all but frozen these past few years at the behest of GOV-CORP (the government – corporation cabal). Meanwhile, the State and all its friends – the politicians, the banks, the corporations, the franchises, the monopolies, the conglomerates, the charities, the schools, the so-called non-government organizations, and all the various vested interests – have the freedom and in fact the mandate to raise the fees and prices on everything possible. Real estate prices, mortgages, cost of borrowing, bank fees, property taxes, utilities rates, public transportation, gasoline, telephone, cable TV, Internet fees, clothing, food (even cat food!), and every other product or service cost in the world has increased. Even the minimum wage has increased – but NOT middle class salaries. So where does the money come from to pay for all the increased prices? According to recent statements by politicians the middle class tax payer should be happy to bear the extra burden. Why not? We have no power to refuse.

The rich and powerful simply steal what they want; the poor – to be blunt – beg for what they want. And both upper and lower classes are subsidized by the government. But the Middle Class – those of us who will never truly be rich and who work just enough not to be poor – must fend for ourselves. We are made to pull the wagons and pay the fare for the people who ride in them. Stand up philosopher George Carlin put it this way: “the upper class keeps all the money and pays none of the taxes; the middle class pays all of the taxes and does all of the work; and the poor are there just to scare the shit out of the middle class – keep them showing up at those JOBS.”

Am I making this up? Think about this – where do you keep whatever money you have? In the bank? in some investment fund? In real estate?  Who actually controls that money? Even self-directed investments are at the mercy of those who have set up the banks and trust companies in the first place. Those people take the lion’s share of the returns and brush the table scraps off in your direction. Then you take your meager earnings and spend it on products and services that benefit the bankers and their friends.

Look, I have nothing against money or even rich people. I can fully appreciate wanting to amass a few million dollars – even a few hundred million dollars – maybe even a few billion dollars. But I can’t understand why anyone would ruthlessly try to amass hundreds of billions of dollars. I mean, really, what can you do with it? Take over the world? It’s been done.

Even the Roman emperors – including the crazier ones – had enough good sense and decorum to use the money they accumulated to give the people free bread and circuses.

Recently, the president of the sinisterly named World Bank, Jin Yong Kim, said that there was a plan in place to eliminate poverty by the year 2030. Of course his definition of poverty is in itself is suspect. Poverty means people currently living on less than a dollar a day. This, of course, leaves out everyone in the so-called free world. But, unfortunately, it still represents over a billion people on our planet. Basically the generous World Bank, run supposedly, by the intellectual and moral elite, has a plan to give a half a loaf of bread a day to anyone without the capacity to beg, earn or steal a dollar. And it will take them 17 more years to put whatever this plan is into effect.

Thank you World Bank!

Maybe if we give them another 100 years to work on the problem they will figure out a way to give everyone the occasional free circus as well.

Oh and by the way, guess where they plan to get that extra dollar a day per person (plus administration fees) to fund their generous campaign? That’s right – it will be extracted from you and me – by force of taxation if necessary.

How do you battle against this world economic abuse of the middle class? Apparently we are told to use only the weapons and strategies sanctioned and provided to us by our enemies. Makes sense.

The Gov-Corp determines the rules of engagement, they choose the time, place and conditions of battle, they control the length of the fight, they provide us with the tools to participate in the contest and they even tell us who the winners and losers are predestined to be. Heads I win – tails you lose.

If the middle class is to survive it must come up with a more effective strategy. Gov-Corp will NEVER give us any effective methods to fight them.  We have to think like revolutionaries. We have to BECOME revolutionary in our approach. This is a difficult concept. So first we should shake ourselves out of the sleep walking state most of us are in. We have to wake up. We have to wake up anyway we can. We must wake ourselves up and then wake up everyone else. This is the only way we will have the chance and ability to develop a plan that will let us survive and thrive in the current materialistic world regime.

 

In honour of the Solstice, here’s a little posting about summer.

Science fiction author Robert Heinlein tells a true story about his cat that formed the basis for one of his best books.

He and his wife were living in a big house in Connecticut with their cat. The house had eleven doors – twelve counting the cat’s private door.

Every day, throughout spring and summer, the cat would go out to the yard and play. Mostly he would use his own door but sometimes, just to assert his authority, he would make one of the humans open a regular door for him. Eventually he knew all the doors and where they led and knew how to get people to open each of them. He was having a great summer.

But one day he went out his private door and saw snow on the ground. He came back into the house, visibly upset, and demanded that Heinlein should open another door for him. Again he saw the snow and came back in. Then he systematically badgered Heinlein into opening one door after another – each time seeing the snow and having the same reaction.

 

Finally Heinlein turned to his wife and said, “What’s up with this cat?”

Mrs. Heinlein studied the situation for a minute and then smiled. “He’s looking for the door into summer.”

 

I think we each have our own “Door into Summer” that we’re always looking for; a magical door that will take us back to happier times; a door to a place that will once again give us the feeling of love and contentment we might have had to leave behind. But this door might also take us to an unknown or future time when our lives can finally be complete; a time and place in which we can experience love, satisfaction, vitality, and total self-expression.

When we bustle about our regular lives we might forget about that door or think of it as some impossible dream. It’s easy to let ourselves get wrapped up in the cold, hard, so-called reality of life and accept that the long winter ahead is the only world we can ever know.

I think the door into summer is real. And like Heinlein’s cat, we should never give up trying to find it. We can step through this wonderful door whenever we are ready and there experience a life we can love. The trick is to understand what constitutes “summer” for us:  to understand what we are actually looking for when we step through that portal into the unknown.

Is the summer we seek just a season of frivolity and play? Or is it something more, something unconnected with physical conditions?

 

Summer is a time when we have passed through the youthful exuberance of spring and have become mature enough to appreciate a slow, sun filled life of active pursuits of our goals. A time we can see clearly, in the bright sunlight, what our lives can be. Summer is the time when we can prepare ourselves to undertake initiations into an even richer life to come – A life beyond the concern for the uncertainties of mere weather, where we are fully in control of our own actions and destiny.

How do we prepare ourselves for such a life?

First we must think about abandoning the urge to sleep-walk through our days. We must commit to waking up. We must wake up by whatever means we can find. Wake ourselves up and then wake up everyone around us. Only by becoming fully awake and enlightened can we appreciate all that our personal “door into summer” has to offer and experience an everlasting life of fulfillment.

Have a happy Solstice and a summer worth remembering.

 

Happiness is found in the awareness and acknowledgment of our DIVINE ASPECT. To the degree we can accept and consciously live from the presence of our own Inner Divinity we will have a true experience of happiness.  This happiness is the kind the mystics of old enjoyed, the beatific happiness of the saints, the bliss in the eternal Lotus. It is the source of all good in life, and it is ours by right – we have only to claim it.

Study this famous poem by Max Ehrmann and seek to apply to your life any part of it that seems good to you. Notice especially the last three verses.

 

 

DESIDERATA (Desired Things)

Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.  As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.  Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.  If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.  Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

 

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.  Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.  But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

 

Be yourself.  Especially, do not feign affection.  Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

 

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.  Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.  But do not distress yourself with imaginings.  Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.  Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

 

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.  And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

 

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

 

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.  Be careful.  Strive to be happy.

 

There are always possibilities available to us in life. Whatever the world throws at us, we should never lose hope. Our circumstances can change and improve if we just keep working at attaining our desires.

There’s an old Sufi legend about a man named Mullah Nasrudin. This wise old philosopher was once condemned to death for saying things that upset the local Shah.  When told of the sentence, Nasrudin immediately offered the Shah a proposition. He said, “Hold off the execution for a year and I will teach your horse how to fly.” The Shah was amused and intrigued. He thought about for only a minute and then agreed to the bargain.

Later, Nasrudin’s friend asked him if he really thought he could escape death with this crazy plan.

“Why not?” the wise man said. “A lot can happen in a year. Maybe there will be a revolution and a new government that’s more in tune with my thinking. Maybe there will be a foreign invasion and a new Shah will come to power.  Or, maybe the present Shah will up and die of natural causes or get poisoned. If that happens, then according to tradition, the new Shah will have to pardon all prisoners awaiting execution. And besides, my captors might get careless and I’ll be able to escape – I’ll always be looking for opportunities to do that.

“And finally, if no other possibilities manifest, maybe I actually CAN teach the damned horse to fly!”

A key element of the Sufi world view, expressed here by Nasrudin, is that each person is an incarnate part of God, with infinite possibilities to improve his or her circumstances and in the process improve the world.

“Maybe the damned horse can fly” is a Sufi proverb that points out it is always a mistake to abandon hope.

Looking around, it seems we are living in tumultuous times, in a world full of strife. It’s easy to see the bad and forget about all the good that is also around us. By keeping hope alive and always being on the lookout for opportunities and possibilities, we can work at moving forward in our lives and bring ourselves blissfully closer to our heart’s desire day by day.