Time flows on and I find my rhythm here. My relationships are deepening, and I have found, surprisingly, a great gratitude in the peer sangha I have discovered here. By this I mean those here of my generation that live their day to day lives realistically seeking to awaken, to find what is real.
It is a beautiful thing to be able to share the range of human experience with a friend without feeling that we have to hold something back. To be able to throw frisbee or play 4-square, and in the next instance be sharing something very personal and deep...that these peers are ready to go there, and to support us in the diverse journey.
And more generally I am feeling more and more the pleasure of co-existing in Sangha. The youngest members of our community are around 17-18, with the oldest being well into their 60's and 70's. We all co-habitate, seeking to find our individual balance within a sense of comm-unity. I have already found good friends- sincere human beings- of all ages, backgrounds, and personalities with which to share my journey; and I find I take equal joy in supporting their own unique journeys as well. As far as I can tell, the journey to Truth is only one path and only one realization, yet the expression of this path seems inexhaustible in its diversity.
~Apparent Diversity, Essential Unity~
It brings into question just what is a life lived well; what is it to live healthfully in a community? It seems to me there is an answer; that this answer is 'sincerity'. But this answer, like the path itself, appears different in every moment, responding with sensitivity and unwavering honesty to the micro-context that has arisen.
There is no strategy for being present...one simply has to be present. In fact, living by way of strategy, and living by way of presence seem to be very different approaches to life. Strategy implies that we can always think ourselves through life's challenges, by way of reason and analysis. Certainly this is how many people and whole societies seem to approach life in our current era. But to always be engaging life through concepts keeps us some distance from the raw, unfiltered experience of it. We think about life from a distance, enmeshed in our concepts with a sense of security and control; yet underneath this conceptual veneer, we feel estranged from the direct experience of our own lives, we fear it and the vulnerability that it requires.
This past week also saw a lovely visit from my father. It was his first time up to the center, and though our time was short, it was a deep sharing. When I can wake up out of the ego-funk that overcomes me from time to time, I find such gratitude for the circumstances of my life. When unconscious, all seems like a struggle. Yet upon waking to our ever-present awareness, life takes on an effortless beauty. It is here without struggle, manifesting exactly the situations and experiences our individual psyches need to come face to face with Truth. This truly is the activity of Grace.
May you all quickly and easily encounter that which is real, aware, and beautiful.
~EkaJoti
There is no strategy for being present...one simply has to be present. In fact, living by way of strategy, and living by way of presence seem to be very different approaches to life. Strategy implies that we can always think ourselves through life's challenges, by way of reason and analysis. Certainly this is how many people and whole societies seem to approach life in our current era. But to always be engaging life through concepts keeps us some distance from the raw, unfiltered experience of it. We think about life from a distance, enmeshed in our concepts with a sense of security and control; yet underneath this conceptual veneer, we feel estranged from the direct experience of our own lives, we fear it and the vulnerability that it requires.
This past week also saw a lovely visit from my father. It was his first time up to the center, and though our time was short, it was a deep sharing. When I can wake up out of the ego-funk that overcomes me from time to time, I find such gratitude for the circumstances of my life. When unconscious, all seems like a struggle. Yet upon waking to our ever-present awareness, life takes on an effortless beauty. It is here without struggle, manifesting exactly the situations and experiences our individual psyches need to come face to face with Truth. This truly is the activity of Grace.
May you all quickly and easily encounter that which is real, aware, and beautiful.
~EkaJoti
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