This passage was a little testy at first, and I found myself falling back on a belief I've decided to have. There is gold everywhere, but it comes to me covered with different amounts of mud, and it is my job to wash the mud away because I am after gold. And, the mud is not out there in the universe, it is in my mind.
I felt, like others in the sharing, that the word "fools" was harsh and judgmental. But this little bit of mud washes away the moment I place myself in that category. I do not want to become the "fool" who harms other people's growth, but I know that I have done so in the past out of ignorance. I have therefore a responsibility to develop both heart and head. Head without heart is cold and intellectual and does great harm to myself and others. Heart without head leads to what some people call "idiot compassion" and also does great harm to myself and others. I have been guilty of both extremes at one time or the other, but I have seen that with patience and practice, it is possible to combine the two and truly help. Moreover, a sensitivity develops where we can recognize that the best help we can give is to accept that we cannot help, wish the other well from the bottom of my hearts and move on. The universe will unfold as it will.
I liked Viral's follow-up question very much - why do ten internally-focused people still choose to sit together? The beauty of this passage lies in the ironies contained within it. I felt that our connections on Wednesdays come out so much stronger, although we hardly speak, and don't even discuss these passages. There is a unifying force within each one of us which we cannot label, and it responds to love and acceptance with greater love and acceptance.
Another irony - those who value internal solitude the most usually get it least in the external form. I remember the Dalai Lama's speech at Stanford, where he mentioned that he does not get to meditate more than 10 minutes a day.
The beauty of life cannot be confined to solitude or company. Life is both, and much more, and it is a mistake to not recognize the solitude in company. When our friends are aligned with our values, it is like different bodies and minds acting as one organism. One of the meanings of the word solitary is "being at once single" - and an aligned company leads toward "singlehood", a oneness. And when company is not aligned, that is when we are truly challenged and pushed to recognize this oneness. That is when our experience of oneness makes a quantum leap in quality. "Smooth seas never a good sailor make."
On Jun 12, 2010 Somik Raha wrote :
This passage was a little testy at first, and I found myself falling back on a belief I've decided to have. There is gold everywhere, but it comes to me covered with different amounts of mud, and it is my job to wash the mud away because I am after gold. And, the mud is not out there in the universe, it is in my mind.
I felt, like others in the sharing, that the word "fools" was harsh and judgmental. But this little bit of mud washes away the moment I place myself in that category. I do not want to become the "fool" who harms other people's growth, but I know that I have done so in the past out of ignorance. I have therefore a responsibility to develop both heart and head. Head without heart is cold and intellectual and does great harm to myself and others. Heart without head leads to what some people call "idiot compassion" and also does great harm to myself and others. I have been guilty of both extremes at one time or the other, but I have seen that with patience and practice, it is possible to combine the two and truly help. Moreover, a sensitivity develops where we can recognize that the best help we can give is to accept that we cannot help, wish the other well from the bottom of my hearts and move on. The universe will unfold as it will.
I liked Viral's follow-up question very much - why do ten internally-focused people still choose to sit together? The beauty of this passage lies in the ironies contained within it. I felt that our connections on Wednesdays come out so much stronger, although we hardly speak, and don't even discuss these passages. There is a unifying force within each one of us which we cannot label, and it responds to love and acceptance with greater love and acceptance.
Another irony - those who value internal solitude the most usually get it least in the external form. I remember the Dalai Lama's speech at Stanford, where he mentioned that he does not get to meditate more than 10 minutes a day.
The beauty of life cannot be confined to solitude or company. Life is both, and much more, and it is a mistake to not recognize the solitude in company. When our friends are aligned with our values, it is like different bodies and minds acting as one organism. One of the meanings of the word solitary is "being at once single" - and an aligned company leads toward "singlehood", a oneness. And when company is not aligned, that is when we are truly challenged and pushed to recognize this oneness. That is when our experience of oneness makes a quantum leap in quality. "Smooth seas never a good sailor make."