INSURED AGAINST LOVE

THE BEAUTY OF THE PATH

(This post is mostly in response to a reader’s comment that has been included at the end of the post)

The secret may be to accept Perfection as ordered by God, by any name or as any concept, and practise to relish it in each of its flavours and fragrances.

We do not choose the path. No one gets to choose his path, or there would be no sickness or poverty or crime or madness or killings. But we do have a choice of how we tread the path given to us.

Our ‘troubles’ are given terms of reference on our journey; we have to go through them. How we choose to face them makes life seem good or bad, takes away their poison or gives them an extra sting. It’s like the weather, it cannot be made to order, yet it can be respected, appreciated or enjoyed in every manifestation. Our health and strength and daily food are also terms of reference. But we never complain of having had too many trouble-free days!

The seemingly wider and not so straight path does give an illusion of achievement and comfort, because it is a wider expanse of emptiness to behold one’s own image in; a simple optical or perceptual illusion which shows an inflated ‘I’.

The straight and narrow changes the perspective of one’s own size and strength, when all sorts of unknown fears seem to crowd in on one to smother and suffocate. Ah! Practise! Like in childhood, once the fear of heights and enclosed spaces is overcome, the best moments are in soaring through air or floating on water or hiding secreted away in closets! Oh the straight and narrow has been unfairly defamed! Step out on it! It’s like leaving one’s fancy car behind and walking; once one gets over the initial ‘discomfort’, the sights and sounds and feeling have no equal!

Man is a thinking animal. We need a sense of achievement, the thrill of facing challenges. But after we have climbed a mountain or swum a river in our youth, do we hide it away in a bank account or any other fortress? No, we live it repeatedly in our feelings, we enjoy sharing it. We have no fear of losing it, and it leaves us stronger to face many more challenges in life.

Amassing wealth or ‘power’ gives a similar sense of achievement. If this ‘wealth’ is translated into caring and goodness and love, it is alive forever. If, however, it becomes a source of unending worry over its security and replenishment, then it becomes a curse that diverts one’s attention from all the better things in life, like laughing with one’s children. And Life goes by anyway.

Accept God’s will. Get over the initial ‘discomfort’.

Ever so often, when we do not have the selfless courage to share, we try to blame the prospective recipients of our time, affection, kindness or help, for being responsible for their own state. The cancer patient is blamed for smoking cigarettes, the diabetic is blamed for not exercising his body enough, the rich person is accused of being a snob, the poor one is reproached for not being industrious or intelligent, the drug abuser is blamed of bringing it upon himself and the rape victim is accused of being promiscuous. We thus imagine that we have wriggled our way out of a potentially losing situation, and we pat ourselves on our backs for being clever.

We have to do the back-patting ourselves, because we have succeeded in missing out on a wonderful opportunity to help, to bless, to love, to live. We may think that we have been very smart in not exposing ourselves to the danger of some presumed loss, but actually we have failed to make an investment in gratitude, love and the security of sharing goodness.

We can complain and make a fuss and whine and grumble and hold in suspicion or contempt all and sundry, and live a nice cold and lonely life behind the stone walls of our minds, ‘insured’ against theft, 'insured’ against bad health and accidents, even ‘insured’ against natural calamities! Or we can, take the ‘risk’ of investing in caring and affection and hope and sharing and blessings and warmth and smiles and happiness and laughter that does not need to find humour in deriding someone else.

We run a risk, every day, of doing a direct disservice to the memory or goodness of anyone who ever helped us or ours. Goodness cannot be repaid; it can only be passed on. All the people whom your father or grandfather may have helped cannot give it back to him, because he is dead and gone. But they can denigrate his memory by not passing on the goodness when they get a chance to.

Go ahead! Dig into the deeper reaches of your heart, and let the glow of Love and goodwill radiate from your countenance!

Reader’s comment on FRAGRANCE

AnonymousThu Oct 24, 10:40:00 pm

We can choose, practice and perfect the way we wish to spend our time on earth........

Every time I try to choose and practice my path on earth other people step into my path and divert me. Coming back keeps getting more and more difficult. How then do I keep to the straight and narrow?

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