One Thought

“We must first become Human before seeking anything superior.” – Rene Daumel

If there is one thought that keeps me grounded it’s this one. It’s amazingly unknown. It reminds me of a guide I had decades ago who would always tell me when I waxed philosophical, “Keep one hand on the earth and one hand on your heart, your life flows between.” I miss this guide, she was wicked smart and kind, she was the first person who taught me to ask, “Can you do that?” when people would talk about doing things with the “mind” or developing “states” that can be used to improve oneself. (I stopped asking teachers, “Can you do that,” when they encouraged me to stop having “unwanted thoughts” or “still the mind,” they would get angry and offended. I was inquiring, not challenging, but people take it personally, at least the ones I knew.)

When people start to talk about “nothingness” and “emptiness” or if there’s a self or not, I lose interest. I lose interest when people talk about “training the mind” into some neat trick of attaining some “status.” I drift when someone well intentioned individual starts encouraging me to “stop rising thoughts.” (That’s one of my favorites, somehow preventing a thought from manifesting before it appears. Who thinks of this shit anyway? Does anyone know how that could possibly be? If you do please contact me!)

Who Cares? Who cares if I reach “enlightenment?” Then what? I start a religion? Find followers? So what? No, I’m not always calm and relaxed, I’m what the situation, my conditioning, the environment, what’s relative, and hopefully appropriate, calls for. (Paying more attention to that, the appropriate part!)

Becoming a Human, Being means accepting all the parts. Not just the shiny ones, or the ones that involve status, or gaining. We must acknowledge and see all our parts, our greed and splendor, contained in this needy little package, a Human, Being.

And perhaps we can back up to where we made the mistake of thinking we are now human, that we can advance our spiritual status and become magnificent, and embrace the reality that we haven’t achieved the state of being fully human yet.

But we can.

I do this as an ongoing process. Remind myself to treat others as I want to be treated, and quit expecting anything back for it. To be kind when kindness is called for, and compassionate, and giving.

Don’t throw snowballs into all the hells, be selective. Everyone has their favorite hell, so don’t bother others trying to convince them yours is the most important.

Live in the bittersweet without believing it’s a choice. Be sad and be happy when they rise, be OK the rest of the time. Try not to make life about me all the time. Boy that one hurts, it’s my favorite mode, self absorption.

I’m a long way from those monk like characters I had first made my hero’s, before living the monastic life and experiencing humanity in that guise. And I’m starting to realize that the goal, if there is one, is to become fully human. Perhaps in the next manifestation, if there is one, I can be something superior. Or not. Or more likely, never.

The most important thing today is to be OK. I’m thrilled when I’m OK!

Embrace today, this is it, the one time, opening up for us to see and experience.

Bryan Wagner