Universal Principle

Sitting among trees in a place that offers ocean, rolling hills, and a different kind of chill in the air awakens another day.  There is a grey sky that looks like it could give way to rains, but maybe not.  

It is a now that is unique, as is every now.

In the travel north, there arose an hours-long conversation that essentially focused on an inquiry about how human beings can manifest a world that is very different from what currently exists in the form of conflict, both small and large.  When moving through the landscape of California, it is possible to experience the idea of diversity.  This diversity is in the non-human realm - what is called the natural world.  The natural world, simply is.  And in the traveling experience, one can encounter what is, in that moment - weather can add to the experience in ways that create delight, joy, fear, anxiety.  All humans have been there in the company of what nature can bring.

The conversation in the car about "now" brought about an exchange about the study of "li" (pronounce it as lee) - a universal principle, abstraction, a heavenly flow and "tsur" (pronounce it as spelled here!) - how the universal principle is manifest by human actions and thought.

Not fully understanding how the heavenly flow manifests in human existence, more observations were shared.  One realizes that no matter what - human beings find harmony to be elusive because there is constant energy directed toward exercising "will.".  That exercise of will leads to conflict, and sometimes even ruin because the manifestations created by humans too often run contrary to the universal principle.  

The examples of our big failings are plentiful - as in what is happening in our environment with its degradation in the name of what we can ultimately categorize as life conveniences and desires.  Consider wars undertaken in the name of "God", "Allah", "Jesus", all are conceptual manifestations created by human beings.

Nature itself is not a concept.  It is.

Seasons are not a concept.  Seasons change.

Life is not infinite for human beings.  We end one day.  This is our common destiny.

Nature, where one sits now - whether in a city or in a forest - reveals the reality of life.  The one who can be with what nature has to offer has found a portal to touching into the universal (heavenly) principle.

For human beings, harmony can only happen when there is alignment with "li."

So the study of what can be called the Universal Principle is critical for one who wants to understand deeply and then act ("tsur") to manifest that understanding in accord with what is revealed.

It is a commitment of a lifetime to understand.