When in the course of human events, one places so much expectation or have no expectation in another, we are pleasantly surprised, a little glow of bliss surrounds us.
June, my 10 year old daughter, surprised me not only in her writing but in her depth of understanding in her own work. So I would like to share some of her work with others.
Vigil 
Every day by her husband’s grave.
She stands, with no one to talk to
Except those who will not talk back.
She has not passed, though
She knows as her statue stands
By her husband’s grave,
Someday his statue will stand by hers.
Mirror
I am a deceiving object.
I have the ability to make people
Young again.
Most of the time I am bright and pure.
I have seen always the young,
Never the old.
I realize I am a liar.
I am not truthful.
In me is a gray heart.
I give people what they want,
But I have to lie to do it.
Moral: Excellent is never where expect to be, when you expect it.
Filed under: philosophy, profound thoughts, thinking, truth | Tags: conscious, head, heart, mind, motivate, philosophy
When in the middle of the forest, when a tree falls, and no one is there to hear the sound, is the sound actually there? This is an old age question and philosophers have pondered this question for a long time.
The adage can also hold some truth for those who are passing on an act of kindness. Do they do so because it is the right thing to do as dictated by their heart, or is it an act that is motiviated by their head.
If one is hermit and lives alone, with no responsibilities, he only has to think of how he would move through the day for himself. Each action that he takes only impacts himself and the things around him, plants and animals. He moves through his daily ritual with an unconscious effort as he has done so many times before. His life is very predictable. He gives reverence to the plants that impacts him and pays attention to the animals that he meets, and should he need to consume them, he expresses appreciation for their contribution to his life. So goes the daily life of the hermit, until, he must interact with another human being.
Now the many years of solitude must give way to a new arrival. Confusion and moreso, distrust follows. If the human is smaller or non threating, the hermit may feel a superiortiy over it, since the human can see that he can vanquish the small being. If the human is larger, then fear and distrust sets in the mind of the hermit. So, how can the hermit extend generosity and kindness to the other human? How can the hermit truly give to the other human? This can be done with feelings from the heart, and not the mind.
The mind tells us from the many years of breeding and learning how to react to social settings. The heart is the only tool that does not give us any clues as to how we should behave. The heart introduces us to many emotions that links two people together, yet these emotions would not exist if there were only one person. Emotions like hate, jealousy, envy, etc need two people to exist before the emotions can occur.
So, when one wishes to pass forward an act of kindness, there first must be another who is the recipient of the act. And when one passes the act, there must a mental act that exist to motivate the action. And when the mind dictates the heart now must take a back seat to the mind. Therefore the act of kindness is not truly an act of kindness, but is motivated by the mind and one is waiting for another to acknowledge the act, and when that occurs there are strings attached to the act.
Moral here: give from the heart, where there is no recognition except yourself, or give from the mind and wait for the results.
Numbers are exact but they lie.
I remember when I was growing up, we were taught that 1 + 1 = 2. Far from being true is that statement. The mathmeticians will demonstrate and argue the validity of the statement. They will show you positions, theories, and analysis as to the falsehood of the proposition. Then why is this statement still being adhere to? And the answer though simple must be considered. For the young people they need a starting point to establish some point of reference. And from this point of reference, people will then progress to the next level of thinking and hopefully build upon the concepts that they are taught. So if they are astute and experience, they progression will lead them the advance theories of mathmatics. Some never reach that level.
Sadly they are the ones who give you your change at the local McDonalds. Lucky for us, the computer tells us how much we should receive back.
As a p.s. to this thought. Truth is true at the time it was made, but it changes with time.
I went to a Buddha Temple in New York. It was like many of the buildings in the area, gray, uninviting, and mixed with the traditional gothic buildings. Once inside, I was able to make my way from the small formal entrance to the lighted eating and meeting area. Though food was not the driving factor, I always remembered that people congregated about that area. And as ususal it did not surprise me to find it to be the center of comfort. It was surrounded by tables, microwave, water tank, faucet counter, etc. Around the room was posting on a bulletin board of the upcoming activites, and most notably was a picture of one of the senior monks shaking the hand of former President Bill Clinton.
But what did catch my attention was the three line quote next to the picture. ” Believe what I say and you are foolish. Believe what you learn and you gain wisdom.” Or something to that effect was what the quote said.
I pondered on that for a while and noticed how profound it was. The buddhist monks though sagely did not wish that you believe in what they said, but would rather you discover on your own what truth really is.
