Thursday, March 25, 2010

Jonathan, Chiang, My Mother, and the Lessons They Taught Me


It's a beautiful sunny day here on the coast of Maine. The last two days were mostly overcast, some rain mixed with snow at times. I still walked out to the beach each day to feel the swells as they approached the shore. There's something I feel inside, an actual physical sensation at my center, as they get nearer the shore and gain intensity. It's a feeling I love. It gives me a sense of connection to the ocean. I feel a part of it, a oneness even, with this incredible source of life. That it is filled with beautiful and amazing beings in a seemingly infinite number and variety deepens its mystery, a mystery I want to understand more and more as I stay present to what it offers.

But, this morning I have something else on my mind despite the beauty right outside my door. I've been thinking about anger and all the ways it seems to be rearing its ugly head in our country right now. I'm sensing an even deeper chasm of "us vs. them." One of the things I'm striving to learn is how to undo negative habits, some of them life-long. I used to spend a great deal of time myself in useless anger. For the last few years I've been moving away from leaning on this emotion to sustain my sense of self-righteousness. I've made great strides and manage most of the time to release it and keep moving forward. Once in awhile I still get stuck momentarily, but what I call my 'turn-around time' has shortened considerably. I simply choose peace in the moment. Occasionally I have to keep choosing peace in each moment until I really feel it, can identify it as my true self. My mother used to tell me, "Smile until you mean it." Now I understand better what she was trying to teach me. I don't claim to have answers for everyone, but I do know what is working for me. As often as necessary I choose peace, choose love over fear. I sometimes hear the statement, "Choose love over hate," but hatred is really just one of the disguises of fear. Fear wears many masks.


For me, spirituality is linked inextricably with science. I often read the thoughts of people like Albert Einstein, who was probably the greatest scientist of our time, to free my thought from false thinking. He and his fellow physicists have written extensively on the nature of reality. To put this subject rather simplistically, reality is perception. If this is the case, and I personally believe it is, then the way to change it is to deal first with my own thoughts. What images am I holding in thought?  What emotions am I allowing to run rampant, accepting them as truth?  If  I choose anger then that is what I will experience. If I choose peace that is what I will experience. It is always, without exception, a choice I make. We can say that these times call for righteous indignation, and so it seems. But, I ask myself, who will suffer from my anger, my indignation?  Will the object of my anger, the system that seems to bring out our collective wrath, suffer?  No. The system doesn't care about our anger. We are the only ones who suffer from our anger.


I'm a firm believer in peaceful protest, have always believed that we have an obligation to speak out against the powers that seem to be and let our voices be heard individually and collectively. But, with anger?  No, I don't feel it will accomplish anything. Two of the greatest voices of our time, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., used peaceful protest and strength of conviction to accomplish change. They believed change was possible and they expected to see it. They spoke out with a strength found in that inner Knowing that lead them through some very difficult times. There is a saying, "You will see it when you believe it." It might appear naive, but I will continue to hold to it until I see the change I know is not only possible but present in this moment if I open my eyes and choose to see it.

I just returned from taking time to walk down to the water. The seagulls gathering at the waters edge and flying across my view reminded me of a book I loved in the early 1970's, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach. It was an early voice in a burgeoning movement towards spiritual understanding of ourselves and the world around us. It might appear almost banal now in its simplicity, but it spoke of higher ideas and used the world of seagulls, one in particular, to bring home a valuable lesson.

Jonathan was growing tired of the squabbling in his flock and yearned to fly higher, outside the society of gulls that seemed driven by fighting over food and resources. He wanted to transcend the boredom, fear, and anger that seemed to motivate his fellow seagulls. He practiced diligently, attempting to fly higher and higher, until one day he was met by two seagulls who lead him to a higher plane of existence. There he met Chiang, a wise seagull who became his teacher. Chiang told him, "Begin by knowing you have already arrived." This idea is what captured my attention. This parable is about seeing the present and infinite possibilities inherent in who we really are. These are the possibilities I still choose to keep reaching for, accepting into my thought and thus my life. Simple?  Yes, as a matter of fact. The truth is simple. We make it much more difficult than it has to be.
 

Chiang ended his lessons reminding Jonathan to, "Keep working on Love." And that's what I aim to do. Keep working on Love. My mother gave me a pendant many years ago, around the time this book came out. It was of seagulls hand painted on porcelain. She knew how much this story spoke to me and quietly encouraged my exploration of these ideas. I feel her encouragement still. Every day I have a beautiful opportunity to listen to what the sea has to say. It's a voice I trust. It is that "still, small voice" that is always present. All I have to do is listen.





13 comments:

  1. Beautiful, just beautiful. Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks!

    Also, your mom is very wise! "Smile until you mean it" is going to be my motto this week!! Thanks!

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  2. Wonderful post. I am working on the same thing...trying to stay in the moment, not stress over things I can't control and enjoy life as it is this very moment. I love the photos too....so calming. Thank you.

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  3. As always, a beautiful post, Teresa. Anger can eat a person alive. I saw that happen to a friend of my mother's. This woman lived to remember the past. Happiness was not an emotion she tolerated well. I think the rawness of the anger that's laced our country these past days has caused a double-take. It's just been too much. When I was on the kibbutz I asked Yosi how the Holocaust came to be. He went on to say that after each edict of what the Jews couldn't do they'd say, Okay, we can live with this. Until, he said, it got to the point where no one could live with any of it. I've always, always remembered this conversation. It's somewhat of a truth-checker in the back of my mind...is this Whatever going to tip us into anothe Whatever to be accepted...I don't know the answer, just that anger is very destructive.

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  4. Can I just say, I love your mother! This isn't the first time you've referenced some beautiful anecdote involving your mother. She has the energy of Yoda. Love her! And, oh, sweet sister, we are struggling with the same demon right now. I too have a tendency to become so ANGRY with the world (thus the Stark Raving part of my blog title). But I look back and compare right now with a year ago and am shocked at how far I've come. I still have a long way to go, but I'm so much more comfortable and healthy having pulled out of Anger Port. I'm reading a book right now (thanks to all of the American unrest) called The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World by the Dalai Lama. I strongly recommend it. After one chapter, I feel lighter already.

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  5. As the anger in the news escalates, I become ever more confused. Where is it all coming from? Surely it is a very, very dark place and I don't want to go there.

    So, let's step back and rejoice in Spring and our friends and "let the rest of the world go by".

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  6. Thank you all for your encouraging words and especially for your kind thoughts around my mother. She has passed. but I feel her with me here in Maine. I'm so glad to share her with all of you. We'll all keep working on that anger thingy and choosing peace together : )

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  7. Beautiful post. You are so blessed to have had such a wise and loving mother. Obviously, her beauty was passed down to you. I mean that with all my heart.

    I agree with a lot of what you say and I'm glad you are able to carve out a peaceful existence despite calamity at every corner. I want that inner peace for myself and...well...for everyone. But what is one to do when one feels as though they're not being heard? Sorry, I'm one of those who don't trust the government to fix anything - regardless of the party. And I worry about what this is going to do to an already weak, fragile economy. That is all I really have to say.

    I wish I could go sit in a bed of flowers and forget about the madness for just a little while. Thank you for giving me something deeper to ponder because my mindset has been a little angry and fearful lately.

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  8. Your photos are so peaceful, Teresa E. and a perfect illustration of your message. I have lots of favorite quotes but one of them that stands out in my mind now is this:

    "Peace: It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."

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  9. LB: I can hear your frustration and understand. I had a conversation with a friend yesterday who reminded me that this is an ongoing unfoldment and that much good can come of all that's happening. I'm going to keep working on choosing peace in my thought and try to witness events without getting emotionally attached to them. It's an ongoing challenge it seems...

    Cheryl: Thanks for your quote ! Exactly!

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  10. Beautiful photographs. Would you have one of the pendant your mother gave? Yes, we already have arrived. I like your description of going down to the ocean, experiencing the swells.

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  11. Teresa, if you are so inclined, please make sure that you have a good connection with my Sage to Meadow blog. I am pinging you as one of my legacy blogs.

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  12. Jack, the pendant is among my belongings in storage now in Minn. As soon as I can get my hands on it I will photograph and post. I thought of it and was so disappointed to realize it's not near at hand. I just today signed up for email notices of your posts at Sage to Meadow. I was unaware of your new posts, but checked today. I will look at other possibilities for a good connection.

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  13. Thank you for the reminder of Jonathan and his journey. It holds many lessons that have been important to me through the years. I too believe in and have experienced the change that comes with choosing peace over anger and it's radiating benefits. Wonderful post Teresa.

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