Interconnectedness.

   Knowing that there is nothing that is not part of the whole.

   I had a really great topic planned out for today's entry.  It sounded good, it felt good.  I got up at 3 AM this morning with a really foul belly and now, whatever that marvelous topic was is gone.  Oh well, Sometimes inspiration needs a good plan to get out of the way first.

   I have really been enjoying Siddhartha from Hermann Hesse.  A marvelous read and interesting in that the first half of it focuses on traditional Indian philosophies and the second half seems to seek balance between western thought and eastern tradition.  I like it.

   I tend to be of the same piece of cloth.   Interconnectedness is a teaching of the Dalai Lama and part of traditional Tibetan Buddhism.  The basic principle is that all things are of the same stuff (science tells us this is true) and that there is, in the big picture, no real separation of things.  It takes real humility to consider this teaching.  One must then accept that even the lowliest of things and creatures in creation have equal intrinsic value.  Even thought we may be at the top of the pyramid, spiritually speaking.

   I am not here to convince or persuade.  I am here to get your gears moving and perhaps allow you to, for just a moment, broaden your horizons of perspective.  To consider, that we are very small parts of the enormity of the big picture.  That, even though, immensely small and unimportant in this big picture, we play a very very significant role in the grand scheme of things.  It is the smallness of your being, that can gives us the perspective to see what we are really capable of and can free us from the idea of importance that keeps us from doing it.

   Our bodies are just temporal shells for our beings, our souls if you will.  Just as a temple is built to be a physical representation of a home for a god, so our bodies are a physical representation of our being, a home for us during this temporal existence.  As expressed by the saying that we are spiritual beings have a physical experience, not the other way around.  And just as the temple does not define the god, it just defines what the people who built the temple thought the temple should look like, not to sum up or define in finite details what or who the god is, also our bodies do not define the being within.  It is our temporary home for the duration of our human lives.

   Our beings are not defined by the proper or improper function of our bodies, by their appearance or by their capacity.  A man without legs is no less a seed of the eternal than a child with no speech or someone that might be a classical beauty in every sence.  We are not our bodies, they are the temples we reside in.

   The being within is defined by the fact that we are here.  If we are here in this life, then our life is justified.  Creation / God determined the value is already and placed each one of us here.  If it were not so, we would not be here.  Simple!  Hard to grasp perhaps for some, yet still very simple.  To grasp this now leaves us the freedom to make the most of the time we are granted in this temporal form instead of passing time trying to define or justify something that already is.

   Each and everyone of us have an immeasurable value as compared to what our minds can comprehend in our current "human" state.  This value is present in all of us.  Part of the understanding or the realization that we get from this principle is what gives our lives clarity and joy.  Perspective.  Our responsibility is to recognize it in each individual that we encounter.

   May each of us "see" this value in ourselves and in those we meet today.  May each one of us bare record of this sacred teaching by giving a smile to all as we move among everyone this day.  May we find that significance bares far greater joy and clarity than importance every can.

Peace, clarity and vision be yours this fine day!

Billy B

Stress is....

Hello There!

Got this from a friend on facebook. ;D

   Stress = worrying, spending energy and thought on something for which you can do nothing about.  Do what you can do and be at peace. 

   I know that I am not alone in this matter.  It is said that the last great hurdle to enlightenment is detachment.  Taking nothing personal, not having any "self" invested in the world.  It sounds boring, yet at the same time, that too could be a self defense mechanism of the ego.  I imagine if you could participate and fully enjoy, appreciating without any stake in the outcome the same as accepting blessings without the need to keep something going beyond it's time or trying to create permanence out of the temporary.  Acknowledging what has been added to your joy and experiences without seeing it's passing as sad, bad or anything but "as it should be".  

   Ok, sounds great! Except, I will be the first one to admit that I am not anywhere near there yet.  It doesn't mean that I cannot see it as a possibility, just that my personal evolution does not yet reach that far.  Right now I am reading (along with many other books at any given time, of course) Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. It's a novel he wrote that very closely, not exactly, follows the life of Prince Siddhartha, the man we now call Buddha.  I admire that one can seek as Buddha did, yet I seem to fall short of such lofty reaches.  I have read many works on the subject of Enlightenment and would in many ways consider myself a seeker.  I also understand that I am a husband, father, brother, neighbor and friend.  I am a professional with a career.  All of these things, titles, roles, if you will, are part of who I am.  The responsibilities that I have taken on during my life up to this point.  

   Some of these roles are ones that "If I knew then..... what I know now" types of situations.  However, that does not excuse me from the responsibilities I have accepted.  There have been many different motivational speakers and I cannot remember which one that said it,  here goes in my own words.   You must decide in your life which relationships are good for you and assist you in living your life on purpose and those that do not.  For those that do not, you must look at them and decide if it is worth the consequences of keeping that relationship (IE; a friend who's influence only creates negative action, thoughts or influence.) and if not create and execute an exit strategy for that relationship.  So that you may use your energies and focus on that which adds to a life on purpose.

   Now in my romanticism (being very much a romantic by nature), I felt for years that this was unacceptable thinking.  Since acquiring some experience and wisdom from said experiences, I now see the bigger picture and potential drama, heartache and such from not following this wisdom.  Some relationships, cannot be "cancelled or exit-ed".  I doubt I need to go into this to deeply, be wise and consider the consequence when you think about such things.  I do not want critical relationships (IE; marriages, etc.) broken up over poorly thought out decisions or when the real catalyst to a better relationship lies within.  

   What I am saying is, we all need some perspective, some "enlightenment" at times and as for me.  I am doing my best to walk The Razors Edge (a very good movie by the way, look it up.  Bill Murray) of living a life that is enlightened yet, fulfilling that which makes life worth living.  My marriage as an excellent example.  It is the most rewarding relationship with anyone in my life.  I would not want to walk away from this relationship for some esoteric feeling when I know that my marriage adds greatly to the overall quality of my life.  I believe that there must be balance in all things.

   Perhaps, stress really is the lack of balance.  In perception, understanding or even action.   Imbalance is the one thing that seems to exist in some area of my life or at the moment when I am experiencing stress.  Balance is the one thing that seems to bring peace and end stress.

   Although, I believe in evolving to the point of true enlightenment, I also understand that I am not willing to do it at the cost of some critical elements of my life.  I hope this makes sense for those of you reading this.  Balance for me is being able to have a big picture view of the world around me, keeping in perspective all humans, relationships, attitudes, actions and otherwise.  Remembering the sacred natures of all men, doing what I can to see everyone without judgement, accepting what is, enjoying what is without demands or expecting something other than what is.  Then, it seems as if the creator within comes into his own and has real power to influence, to create real enduring value for those around me.  Only when, I give up the need to self serve or justify.

   I guess that is the real trick to balance, to stepping a way from stress.  Letting go of the need or desire to have what is not or not "seeing" what is already.

   May you find that balance in your life that allows you to be free of stress.  To have quality relationships (only a healthy inner relationship can allow healthy outer relationships) in your life.  May you see beyond judgment and know real peace that wells up from within and flows outward.

Billy B