It's More Than Just Applying The Brakes
I've been thinking a lot about this whole process of taking time, not rushing, and my mantra: "I will rush no more!"
It occurs to me that imbedded in the statement is an invitation to slip into an alternate way of being. I am coming to the conclusion that it (my mantra) is like a skeleton key for a portal to a different way of being and experiencing. If you go too fast or if you are preoccupied and harried in your "going" then you will miss the portal and the opportunity. But if you go at the right pace and with a state of mindfulness, i.e., being in the moment without the flood of judgements and preferences and qualifications, then the passage presents itself and you can slip into it.
However, if the "not rushing" is coming from a place of just putting on the brakes, a having to slow down, in the sense that it's a rule or a mandate, rather than a preference and an active choice, then it loses all of its magical potential. A rough approximation would be having to slow down in traffic but being frustrated the whole time because the impulse is to continue speeding, for whatever reason. Perhaps the classic situation would be with a person who has what is called Type A behavior. A person with that is suffering from an ongoing sense of time urgency, and anything or anyone who impedes that urgency is seen as a source of frustration. In those situations the best outcome (and it's not good at all) is to just endure the impedence; no growth there.
Most of the time simply not rushing will have a positive effect in my experience (provided it's not simply applying brakes). But the further gain will come when there is a softening into the moment and opening of the gates of awareness without preference. Nice things happen then, or more properly, new things have a greater chance of happening under those conditions.
There is one further piece in all this and that is that if you bring all of the "old" into the place of freshness, then it will just contaminate that place.
But all is not lost if you mess it up because the potential of using the skeleton key for the portal is always there. It's always there for the taking or experiencing. Sometimes I think it's like there is a revolving door which is ever present. If you enter, you leave one place, you move around, and then you can get out and be in the different place. And of course, the revolving door goes in the other direction also.
I'm talking about a skill. A skill for living well. A skill for improving the sense of appreciation and wonder and curiosity.
3 comments:
I love skeleton keys! Not just for their function, but their artisitic simplicity and mystery of what doors they might possibly open.
Pardon me, but I think you are over-analyzing things to much here. Don't make simpicity more complicated then it needs to me.
You need to go stick your bare feet in some sand, maybe enjoy some outdoor grilling. :)
take Care!
-P
Hi Proxima,
If simple is so simple then how come so many people have such a great difficulty enjoying the simple things in life?
That's what I was writing about. It's kind of a contradiction, but I was writing about observations about what gets in the way of that what-should-be-ever-so-simple process, and some work-arounds. In that sense it was an overview of some of my thoughts; like an abstraction.
A few weeks ago I had to get something from my car and I walked out on my driveway (blacktop) from my home in my stocking feet.
I became aware of warmth on the bottom of my feet. It was a surprise. It was a gift. I was thrilled in its clarity. It was little more than momentary. It was bliss.
That was part of what had led me to writing about how it is more than just applying brakes.
Tim
I'm glad it was the warmth of the sun on the driveway that warmed your feet and not a fresh pool of dog pee! :>
I admit, maybe I read too fast. I also have headaches that just won't go away, I know the Neurologist will be disappointed, it seemed like we were making progress with them. We're not sure of their cause. Maybe looking at the computer too much, even though I keep a good distance from the screen.
At any rate, I hope you had a great week! Take Care!!!!
-P
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