Friday, August 13, 2010

Awesome Things Volume XXVIII


Awesome things are often simple joys....

A cool breeze while pumping gas into my car earlier this week. It was another brutal week as far as the heat goes, with a couple of days reaching 100 degrees, but on this one morning I enjoyed a cool breeze while standing at the gas pump.

Spending last weekend with my granddaughter. She came over at 8:30 AM on Saturday so her parents could go to the King's Island amusement park. Admittedly after one of her extended visits I feel like I have been to the gym but we had a wonderful time. It a good thing to sometimes see life through the eyes of a child.

Monday was the 15th anniversary of the death of Jerry Garcia, one of my musical heroes. I am a card carrying "Dead Head" and I miss seeing Jerry and Dead. Like all of us Jerry was an imperfect human being but he gave a lot of joy to a lot of people with his music. Yes, I do have lots of Grateful Dead music on my ipod.

Walking. Most days I go to the first floor of my office building and walk at least five laps around the perimeter. If the weather is nice I go outside around the park or along the river. However, I'm not a fan of hot weather so it's usually fall or winter when I venture outside. Admittedly I don't walk just for the joy of walking. It's my way of exercising to keep my weight and blood sugar under control. However, it's not all work either. I do enjoy walking and it gets the blood pumping when I am tired or a little brain dead from too much time looking at numbers and other data. Walking puts you in direct contact with your world. You can feel the wind and smell the flowers. You can sense when the rain is coming or you can enjoy the snow when it is falling. When I walk my feet are on the ground even if my head is sometimes in the clouds.

Being where you are. This is Zen and it is more difficult than you think. For example, at this moment my body is sitting here in my cubicle writing these thoughts. However, my mind is a million other places. It is a daily goal of mine to unite my mind with my body. If you can be where you are, doing what you are doing, you have learned how to truly live. Living and being where you are can also slow life down. The older you get the faster life seems to go. You can wake up and realize that five years have gone by. By being where you are, and practicing mindfulness, you get the most out of every day and they don't seem like such a blur when looking back. Your goal today is to be where you are, wherever that is, do what you are doing, and enjoy the moment. You will not pass this way again.

The "Tao". What people call the Tao (pronounced DOW) is basically a collection of Chinese philosophy. I find these writings very thought provoking. Here's today's thought....

"For a true master, sitting on a throne is no difference than sitting on dirt".

The commentary says, "True enlightenment comes from understanding the oneness of all reality. Such a realization leads to a perception that all things are truly equal. There is no polarity in the eyes of a master. Ordinary people cannot see this clearly. We feel safe only within declared boundaries. We make distinctions, we defend ourselves and our territories. Only a master knows the meaning of liberation and has complete freedom". Take this in with your morning coffee!

Nothing in particular. This reminds me that some days are just ordinary and that's OK. Everyday is not awesome. What connects all the awesome days are all the ordinary days. An awesome day may be something to celebrate but it would be challenging and exhausting to celebrate 24/7. Ordinary days are days to breathe, catch your breath, and rest up for the next awesome day. The reality is that most of our days are ordinary. You should still enjoy them or you will miss a big chunk of your life. Of course, today is not completely ordinary. It is Friday and I know all of us love Friday. Sometime we love Friday because we've had a tough week. I love Fridays even when I've had a great week.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This is one of your best posts ever.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Truly wonderful and I thank you. I'm glad I was prompted to pass this way.