Holidays;
Most of us are about to take a holiday,
Friends will say:
"enjoy yourself, don't do anything I wouldn't do".
What does that mean?
That's really scary.
What do they expect us to do?
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 try not to speak,
not a lot of social intercourse.
Just commune with nature, and watch the Universe at work.
Of course, there are other things, like 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 should be left at home.
Of course when we realise the cause,
we become truely enlightened.
All of a sudden, our 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, and if we don't, we share our problems with strangers what we hate about everything.
I don't do that anymore.
I realized that I caused the problems.
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 now.
Unconditional love, for myself and all beings.
It's not easy, practicing a 'no judgement' attitude.
Practicing unconditional love takes work.
The decision to practice, 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 of us spend our waking life in discontent, worry, anxiety, being
depressed or other negative states of mind.
These directly effect our behavior.
When we are able to enjoy simple things, like listening to the sound of the wind,
or the rain, or 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.
We find a space has opened up,
our behavior changed.
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, and we relate to others with loving kindness.
The common element: contentment
peace
being alive
just being
I love holiday.
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love