01
Sitting with a blank mind,
watching,
waiting
for something to emerge,
arise,
appear
out of the emptiness,
stillness,
silence,
to catch our eye
and invite a closer look,
we open ourselves
to guidance/direction
from an internal/psychic source
and place ourselves in its service
with nothing to lose
and nothing to gain,
ready to do what needs to be done,
to do what needs us to do it,
with nothing in it for us
beyond the joy/wonder of doing it,
and the satisfaction
of having done it.
Our role for the rest of our life.
02
We do not have to go looking
for what needs to be done.
We only have to see it--
realize it.
It is always just "right there."
Right before our eyes.
We only have to see
what we are looking at.
Anyone can do that.
Nothing to it.
03
Ask anyone who knows
about seeing/knowing/doing/being
and they will tell you
there is nothing to it.
We don't have to do anything
to see what we are looking at,
to know what we are doing,
and what needs to be done,
when, where and how
it needs to be done.
It is as easy as seeing what we see
and knowing what we know.
Here/now.
In each situation as it arises.
Doing what needs to be done about it.
And being who we need to be
in order to do it.
Fall into place
around seeing/knowing.
Babies do it.
Children do it.
Birds and turtles do it.
All the time.
04
I go looking for photographs
when conditions are favorable
and the time is right.
Waiting for favorable conditions
and the right time
opens the here/now
to what's what
and what needs to be done about it
here/now.
And that opens the door
to sitting in the emptiness,
stillness,
silence,
waiting for the mud to settle
and the water to clear.
Clarity is the foundation
for everything that follows.
The spring board into Right Action
at the Right Time
in the Right Place
and the Right Way.
I spend most of my time
transitioning from then to now,
waiting for clarity.
When I am able to do that
without thinking about it
things flow like a river,
carrying me along
like a cork on the water
into the next thing
and the thing after that.
05
We take things too seriously,
live too fast,
want too much...
Slow down.
Sit quietly.
Be cool.
Stop.
Look.
Listen.
What's the hurry?
We are only going to be here/now
no matter where we go
or how soon we get there.
What are we going to do then
except be here/now
some more again?
06
Everybody wants more.
No matter how good things are,
they could always be better.
Everybody wants better/more NOW!
Giant Sequoia's get along just fine
never having more than they have
at any point in their life.
The same goes for Tortoises
and Lenten Roses.
It is a long list of things
that get along quite nicely
never having better/more NOW!
It is a matter of knowing
when we have enough
and being fine with that.
The drive for better/more NOW
is fueled by an economy
that needs to sell stuff all the time.
If we aren't wanting/buying constantly,
we aren't doing our part,
and should be deeply ashamed
and guilt-ridden.
Right?
07
Doing what needs to be done here/now
in light of all things considered
is all there is to it.
Jesus couldn't do better.
The Buddha couldn't beat it.
All of the guru's, sages and divines
together couldn't improve upon it.
If you are going to do anything,
do that,
in each situation as it arises,
your whole life long.
08
We are not to live to impose our will upon the day.
We are to live to assist the day
in becoming what it needs to be.
To listen to the day,
to the circumstances
at work in each here/now.
What is called for?
What needs our assistance
in coming forth?
How can we be of help
"that is the kind of help
that help is all about"
(Shel Silverstein)?
Our place is to help the day
be the kind of day
the day needs to be.
It takes listening/hearing,
looking/seeing
to know what that is,
and it takes our unthinking,
sincere,
spontaneous,
of the moment response
to do what is called for
at the right time,
in the right way
for the magic to happen.
And that is what we are here for.
09