Breakthrough
The morning is clear, slightly grey and orange in northern California. The coolness is the same as down south at 55 degrees fahrenheit. The energy feels still, on the verge of something. Today will be a travel day and it is Sunday.
"Your shell is there for you to break through."
This is the last line of a verse that speaks to the opportunity to accept criticism, to avoid wasting energy making excuses, and to learn to appreciate the opportunity to be both angry and to train yourself to turn that anger into a positive energy so you can finally wake up.
In this life, all the events and relationships will invite the shell to harden as hopes and disappointments come and go. The goals, achievements, and praise for success will ultimately show themselves to leave you wanting.
Who am I? Who keeps asking all these questions? What is my purpose? And the journey to the true self becomes more and more arduous with every turn, every moment of true reflection. Why? because all of the things one is told are so important, reveal that they really are nothing at all.
"Just because one has much, doesn't mean they are much."
Sometimes, if you are fortunate, there is a breakthrough. The realization that all that has been gathered, all the basking in attention, all the knowledge acquired - doesn't make for a satisfying, peaceful life. Indeed, the more one has acquired, the more one remains at the center of attention, and the more so-called knowledge that one acquires - the heavier the burden on the journey to their true self.
Many people with whom I have crossed paths have achieved great things and notoriety. And many of them are among the most confused. Either there is a thirst that cannot be quenched because no matter how much they have, they need or want more. Or, there is a realization that all that has been built, acquired, or achieved ultimately leads to nothing special at all!
That's the thing about Zen. The truth of living is right there. It is truly, everywhere.
These are the thoughts that came on this day.