Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Life Is Our Teacher

“Each place is the right place, the place where I now am can be a sacred place”.
-Ravi Ravindra
 
This is a difficult teaching for me to accept.  In a cosmic, generic way I can believe that all of life and everything in it is sacred.  Life feels less sacred, however, when I am stuck in a traffic jam, having a bad day at work, or I have jacked up my television and I can’t get it to do what I want it to do.  Many spiritual teachers have taught that it is the challenges and difficulties of life that are our greatest teachers.  Many people believe that insight is received in quieter moments or in formal periods of meditation.  This is certainly true at times.  When I am frustrated or annoyed I am not always open to what the moment is teaching me.  Some moments of my life I feel like little more than a grumpy old man.  In other more enlightened moments I try to understand why I am annoyed or frustrated.  I try not to let my emotions get the better of me.  Most of the time I am trying to understand why I am having the emotional response that I am feeling.  I tend to focus more on understanding my negative emotions but sometimes I also try to understand why I am feeling happy.  It bothers me when I sense my negative emotions outnumber my joyful ones.  Your day, and how you react to it, can be a great teacher.  Some days, however, I pass the class of life, some days I fail it, and with increasing desire I often want to skip the class of life and play hooky.          

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