Saturday 27 February 2010

Thou Bear's Thy Heavy Riches But A Journey, And Death Unloads Thee.

In the unfolding story, if apparent cause and effect are taken note of and the journeys and bridges and waylayings are apprehended, and if some judgement of their worth and aspect are divined, with amusement and perhaps with pathos, it could be said that letting go completely (although the method, if there is one, of this surrender is disputed) doesn't squelch ambition, but simply makes ambition a goal unto itself. Unbridled, the undemanding ego simply undertakes whatever form of action furnished by whatever apparent source, and every action, freed from the necessity of validating the persona that carries it out, is an action seemingly fraught with fundamental meaning. The outcomes are perhaps not so conjectured, so the outcomes, if, indeed, cause and effect are even noted, are free to be whatever they can be, and not confined to simply whatever can be imagined. In this phenomenon of "being lived" lies the comforting answer to the still grasping, overburdened ego. You cannot fulfil infinite potential whilst still confined by fear and defences, although fear and defenses can often seem to play an important role; conditioning is conditioning, it is there, and our personas were all shaped by the multiplicity of apparent experience. To quench our flaws by an act of conscious will perhaps denies their usefulness. If the goal is unknown and the method of obtaining it a mystery, any defenses can naturally be discarded, or used for their full benefit; stubbornness, for example, is not always an impediment, and conscious compassion sometimes blinds us to some more useful form of "tough love".

The less you absolutely know what to do, the more potential fills that vacuum. Perhaps "what to do next" can become less some vexing mystery, and more some awe-inspiring discovery; if, indeed, "what to do next" is even noted, or pondered upon. The ego relieved of the burden of its own apparent journey is an ego freed to take the best possible journey, and that journey is no longer judged by a set of narrow rules and beliefs. In fact, the journey in time seems less a story with a beginning, a middle and and end; the journey is, in fact, just a timeless constant rearrangement of reality, there for the amusement (or bemusement) and edification of the parcel of awareness that we seem to be. It is frightening to let go. It is fearful to die, as a small person named Jim or Angela or Hassim or Nanako, and become an apparent slice of everything. However, paradoxically, that is already the case, no matter how stifled the journey seems to be, or how limited the character that takes it. Your confining persona could "die" at any "time", and if it doesn't, that is what is meant to be, and the boxed-in journey is not wrong, but exactly what is needed. If the mind is open, and the road is wide, there is no need for despair, except where despair can play its own hard role.

The Straight Story is a classic journey, taken by a stubborn old man named Alvin, who knows he has to travel to his estranged and very ill brother entirely on his own steam for the journey to mean as much as it does to him to his brother. Limited by lameness and blindness and having no drivers license, he decides to travel 240 miles from Laurens, Iowa to Mount Zion, Wisconsin on a lawn mower. It really happened, and was made into a film by David Lynch. Alvin just wants to be with his brother and look up at the stars with him again, like they did when they were kids. This is the end of the film. Simply sitting on a porch is wholeness, completeness, and perfection.


20 comments:

albert said...

Wonderful how "what to do next" always happens, whether "I" knew what to do or not. Thanks again, Suzanne, for an amazing blog.

No One In Particular said...

My pleasure Albert, and thank your mind from me for interpreting it as "amazing".

tom sullivan said...

Gurdjieff used to say, "every stick has two ends." Some "sticks" have even more. We do have the potential to appreciate just about any occurence in multiple ways over time. Thanks for the reminder, and for sharing "The Straight Story."

Anonymous said...

Nice one. No need to let in anything. It's already in. Here. Always has been. That's the challenge. :-) Love the new profile pix, btw.

No One In Particular said...

Hi Tom, so hard to put into words, isn't it? But fun trying. I just love Richard Farsworth and Harry Dean Stanton.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Genju, the less "I" work, the more "I" get done.

tom sullivan said...

Hi Suzanne, I agree that putting this stuff into words is impossible and fun to try. I can however, generally feel what you're trying to say. Thanks for the life-affirming generosity of your attempts.

Anonymous said...

Hey Suzanne,

Nice to see this post as I've felt this post was going to be coming from somewhere, the idea of surrender, the I, and letting go. I've been seeing this through other parts a lot lately of the non-separation and almost ended up writing it, but low and behold it made its way to the pages.

The reflection in the water are ever so clear and the disturbances are becoming less and less, the unfolding waves seem to be realizing more and more that they are the Ocean.

I'm in thankfulness for you.

-Nick

Bernard said...

Dear Suzanne,

The idea of letting go, of surrendering, is one of the many fantasies of the ego, tired by its always failing but never ending attempt to control itself and the world, sometimes wishing that this could all stop, so it could get some peace at last. A good sleep at night is a fine "method", although temporary.

Bernard

No One In Particular said...

"Letting go" is a conceptual attempt at pointing to no-ego. Just another story, another attempt...and nothing wrong with a good fantasy.

Anonymous said...

Oh God! I'm such a sap. Damned near lost it watching your video. Now I must find it and watch the whole thing. What I would do to sit on the porch with my brother again. Very touching, thank you.

Meanwhile, beautiful post. Got a lot out of this one!

No One In Particular said...

Hi Mike, it's powerful, no doubt about it. It's another story, just hinting at the infinite possibilites...and that the ego and its motivations can be enjoyed, especially if the ego isn't what's enjoying it.

Shanto said...

Beautiful!

"the journey is, in fact, just a timeless constant rearrangement of reality, there for the amusement (or bemusement) and edification of the parcel of awareness that we seem to be"

Yes, and what a beauty there is in this seeing!

No One In Particular said...

Hey Svante, totally Dude.

Barry said...

Thank you so much for the video clip - which says more about what it takes to love than just about anything I've ever seen.

The trials and tribulations of QPR said...

Yes, beautifully put Suzanne, thank you for sharing...what a great video clip at the end. I'm off out into the garden now to simply be and do as being is and does :-)

No One In Particular said...

Hi Barry, that film and the true incident it's based on surely are a fabulous expression of love...but don't be too hard on yourself it you can't aspire to that kind of action. It's all and expression of love.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Doug, being is as being does, no matter what that seems to be!

The trials and tribulations of QPR said...

Ha, ha, YES, exactly, thanks for the response ... have a great weekend ... I'll 'be' with Tony Parsons later today :-)

No One In Particular said...

Well, say hi to him for me. And look up a chap named Siva, who'll be there too - wears lots of tweed, very loquatious and very sweet.