This is my favorite line from The Big Lebowski. It can be used every day in any situation.
New shit comes to light every day. Accept, adapt and go with the flow man.
Zen
Don’t delay gratification
Don’t live a miserable life because you think trade offs and sacrifices ensure that some time in the future you’ll be happy. It’s like eating so healthy that you hate food and dread meal times. It’s like saving so much money every month that you can’t justify turning the heat on when it’s cold outside or buying an extra jersey. It’s like staying fit at the expense of relationships and friends. Lie in once and a while. Enjoy yourself – make decisions and take actions that bring you joy now.
Of course don’t be silly – look after yourself and be kind to people, but resist the urge to plan for safety all the time. Live a joyful life, and make decisions and take action that aligns you with that joy.
“Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans” – John Lennon
Face it
Running away is not the same as being free
None of us get out of here alive…
Acceptance of our mortality sharpens our focus on being present and enjoying every day. We secretly think we will live forever and bow out when it suits us. That’s the ego telling us we are in control.
We have a limited time in our body. We are all going die. Let that sink in.
Taste the coffee, smell the air, breath deeply and savor every day as it were your last. The acceptance of death increases our day to day joy. What a paradox!
The truth hurts
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it”
– George Orwell
The pursuit of mastery
I love it when practices like Yoga, Aikido, Kung-fu, surfing, running, writing are described as nobel pursuits. It implies that the nobelness is not about achieving mastery, but more so achieved through the persuit of mastery. The answer is in the dirt of the day to day practice.
Green fields
It’s uncanny how many people imagine a green field when they meditate and still their mind. The field is there waiting for them.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and right doing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.”
– Rumi
What can I offer?
Change the question from ‘what can I get?’ to ‘what can I offer?’ Do it every morning you wake up and try to start every interaction in this frame of mind.
Don’t force it
If you are forcing it then it’s not yoga. Listen to your body
Weather patterns
As I left the house this morning there was a gentle offshore wind blowing, the ground was wet from morning rain and there was still a bite in the air. A typical spring morning in Northern California. Weather patterns can evoke memories, just like smells and sounds. This particular combination of notes took me back to Mexico.
In the spring of 2003 I was on the west coast of Mexico with two buddies. We had slowly moved down the coast, camping in beach villages along the way and surfing every morning. If the surf was good and the people were friendly then we would stay a while. The ritual was the same. Wake up before sunrise, slowly crawl out of a too small tent, fuel the belly with some instant oats, try to warm up a bit and paddle out. Like clockwork, the wind was always a light offshore before switching to a pumper onshore at around 10ish in the morning. The key was to get out early with the offshore wind and catch the swell when it was glassy and smooth. Crowds were never a problem. The rest of the day was spent sleeping, reading and playing cards away from the wind and sun. Just before sundown as everything started to cool again, the wind would die down and switch back to offshore. It was time to suit up and paddle out for a cheeky sunset surf. Good times.
Pattern recognition is combination of things, like the time of year, sights, sounds, smell and state of mind, but when it clicks into place it’s great to revisit a moment and savor it. Be open to it and explore it when it happens.
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