Suddenly

Today the skies are clear and the predictions are dire.  At the moment, the temperature is 62 degree, fahrenheit.  It is Friday, 6:21 a.m.  The energy is very still - just like it feels before a sudden burst.

Making things work is what every adult needs to do.  Whether it is in the spaces we live in or the places we contribute time and talent.  The whole of life depends on making things work.  We strive to have things go smoothly and only keep a little bit of awareness about things that are really not working, like places where war has broken out or people who suddenly find that they have a life-threatening illness. We hear about and read about such things but unless we are in it - the experience of things happening "suddenly" is just a concept.

One day there will be peace and hope for the future; and the next moment, things will shift – this is what happens when we fade into complacency about life.  The belief that everything will always be fine or alright, moves into the reality and experience that things shift - nothing stays the same.  The sudden changes are the most jarring and the impact can be very long-lasting, deep.  It can change a person for the rest of their life.

This is why it is so vital to cultivate the ability to go into stillness and refine the ability to see with more than the eyes.  If one relies only on what they can see, and not develop a sense of being able to know with all their being, then one will be more vulnerable to things that change with suddenness.  With the ability to "see" one knows when to assist and when to yield, when to act and when to stay put, when to start something and when to wait.  This kind of seeing requires recognizing the energy, the movement, the conditions - not just the things the eyes can capture.  Without this ability, one could fall into laziness about living a vital and meaningful life.  

The easiest is in seeing the immediate space in which one finds themselves - the more the spacial clutter, the more the mental clutter.  It is a struggle because of the tendency to attach to things.  Everyone has this.  Even those who are unhoused - you see the items piled high, whether on a cart or in a tent or on one's back.  The things will suddenly disappear, always.  Whether by force or by disintegration.  No one "wants" to separate from the things, it just happens.  Sometimes it is announced that things need to be cleared, and other times not – like the unhoused who are given notice to move; and then the wealthy in Rolling Hills whose homes suddenly slide down into an arroyo.  It happens that no matter what, it probably feels as though the shift is happening suddenly - but in reality, it has been a long time coming.