Holiday-
When I announced that I was going to take a holiday,
friends told me to enjoy myself and don't do anything that they wouldn't do.
What does that mean?
That's really scarey,
would they eat someone?
I most certainly wouldn't do the things my wild friends get up to. Not that there is anything wrong with being wild, I just don't do wild things.
I go on holiday to relax.
I don't speak,
no social intercourse.
Just commune with nature
and watch the Universe at work firsthand. Of course there are other things, like the food, always the food.
The most important part for me is the letting go.
We carry so much nonsense around with us, so much garbage. Concerns from the past, future dreams that will never happen.
The stress and suffering caused by past and future.
When we realise the cause,
we become truely enlightened.
All of a sudden, the surroundings look and feel different.
Very clear, crystal clear,
no judgement, only joy and love.
Even when transport is not on time, service not the best, there are flies and bitey things, never mind.
We rise above the argument in the mind. We overcome obstacles that normally stay and build, until we share with strangers what we hate about everything.
I don't do that anymore.
I realized that I caused the problem.
I was the argument.
I only saw in others, what I didn't like in myself.
All that has changed.
There is nothing I don't like about me.
Unconditional love, for myself and all beings.
It's not easy,
no judgement,
unconditional love,
it takes work.
The decision to practise is the work.
It takes a decision.
Our whole life is based on decisions.
To get up in the morning,
till the time we sleep, decisions.
The decision to be nice,
that is another matter.
What to eat, what to wear, which wife, which life.
These are the easy decisions.
When it comes to behavior,
that is another matter.
To be at peace with oneself is the key. How can we be at peace when our behaviour is determined by our emotional state?
Most spend most of our waking life in discontent, worry, anxiety, depressed
or other negative states.
These directly effect our emotional behavior.
When we are able to enjoy simple things, like listening to the sound of wind, or the rain, and watch the beauty of clouds moving across the sky.
Be alone without the feeling of loneliness, not needing to be entertained.
When we find ourselves treating a complete stranger with kindness, no thought of return.
Then a space opens up,
our behavior changes.
It is this space that gives us a sense of well-being, of peace, of what the Indian sages called Ananda-the Bliss of Being.
We appreciate simple things, our own company, we relate to others with loving kindness.
The common element
contentment
peace
being alive
being
I love holiday.
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love