Rushing Life - a Symptom With a 'Cure'

Carl

Thanks you guys...

I'm almost back to 'normal' now... its been months!!

Very odd, lots of time to just be, no books... just time, smiling at the illusion of me in the garden.
Sounds great huh. yeah, but guess whats rearing its 'ugly' head now...
that old graspy monster again.
I've become quite keen on just being...
at a specifyed temperature ofcourse, in my favoured surroundings,
and now its time to go just be back fast-pace in the towering offices again. :roll:
Ha... now i get to see how much of the garden i 'take' with me.

Wish y'all well.

Carl

The Situation:
Rushing life is a symptom of not being deeply in the moment. At its heart, rushing is an emotional approach to life. Thus, we can be 'rushing' while sitting perfectly still. Examples abound: rushing occurs while shopping, working, playing, thinking, eating, listening,... maybe even sleeping. Rushing is the 'lust' Buddha spoke of in the Second Noble Truth. Let's go one step further. What is the cause of this 'lust'?

The Cause:
Biology hoodwinks us into feeling that our rushing will lead to resolution and a peaceful stillness we lack at the moment. Of course, that absence of centered [chref=16]stillness[/chref] is what drives us to rush in the first place. And that absence is caused, in the end, by our mind and its ability to imagine a future - [chref=38]foreknowledge[/chref]. We can always imagine a 'brighter' future than our present moment, and so off we go mentally and emotionally, if not physically. Interestingly, the word religion stems from the Latin word relig which means reconnect, reattach; the word yoga stems from the Sanskrit root yuj which means attach, join, bind. I'm thinking, 'Humpty dumpty sat on a wall,...'. How can we reattach ourselves to the whole from which we so obviously feel disconnected?

The Cure:
Our mind got us into this mess, perhaps it can help us reconnect. How about using our freewill and just say NO! We will just decide to stop rushing, be [chref=37]still[/chref] and return to our moment. Ha, ha, ha!

Okey, that's out, but there is a [chref=41]way[/chref]. First we must carefully observe our life to prove to ourselves that this - 'situation and its cause' - is actually happening. As realization deepens, our behavior - the rushing - subsides [chref=17]naturally[/chref]. No freewill, will power, discipline, intelligence, are needed - whew! Ironically, we actually need to [chref=40]weaken[/chref] our will to watch carefully enough. Fortunately, we begin taking care of that at birth, i.e., [chref=36]if you would have a thing weakened, you must first strengthen it[/chref].

The Disclaimer:
Naturally our rushing blinds us greatly. The more we rush, the less able we are to observe, which leads to further rushing. Gads, it is a wonder we don't fly apart at the seems! This certainly explains why this is a life long process. We may [chref=70]understand[/chref] all this in an instant, but it take a lifetime to [chref=70]put into practice[/chref]. Times a wastin'...let's start today!

Lynn Cornish

I can so relate to rushing. I remember noticing when I was at my job, under pressure, I would rush so much that my head was way ahead of my feet. When I realigned my head and my knees and feet, calmness returned. This posting reminds me of the discussion about being careful, that when you care things become easier. It's clearer to me to say that when you are present, things become easier.

Oh, and it was amusing that when I started reading what you wrote, I was rushing, thinking I should be watering the plants, and then getting ready to go out, and then meeting my friend, and then and then and then. Once again, my head leading the rest of me by the nose.

Yes, it's hard to put it into practice. I've found that if you put your consciousness at your feet you can't help but become more present, but it's remembering to do that...

Carl

[cite] Lynn Cornish:[/cite]....reminds me of the discussion about being careful, that when you care things become easier. It's clearer to me to say that when you are present, things become easier.

I find that seeing [chref=56]sameness[/chref] between disparate views, pulls me deeper into the [chref=21]essence[/chref] they share. For example, isn't being "present", just being "careful", just being [chref=37]still[/chref], just being [chref=78]weak[/chref],...Hmm, that sounds a little messy - grammatically speaking. Seeing the 'same thing' from many different angles helps deepen understanding - not only here but in plumbing as well. Ok, not only plumbing, but everything bar none, except perhaps [chref=14]the image that is without substance[/chref]. That's where we all end up.

Lynn Cornish

I find that seeing sameness between disparate views, pulls me deeper into the essence they share.

Yes. I understand. Good observation. I like it.

(Along the way, I noticed that I have a prejudice against the word "careful." I guess because I've been criticized for being careless. I've noticed other words that carry emotional baggage for me. Isn't that dumb? How enmeshed we are in language!)