Sidewalk Bends

It’s difficult to watch those around us go through challenges, especially those challenges in which we think we have clarity. However, what is right for us may not necessarily be right for the other person. We each have to find what suits us and what can sit squarely in our hearts without any regrets. Though we might want to force our way by being louder, or by doing for another person what they can do themselves, we must not overstep our bounds.

We must allow others to make their own decisions even if we do not understand the reasons or motives behind them. It is not our place to ridicule or to guilt someone into a decision that suits us rather than the person who actually has to live with the choice. We have our chance and so we must allow others to have their chance as well.

When we grab for the first glimmer of understanding or truth we can get our hands on, we can trip on ourselves. With our focus on one word, one phrase, one page, or one book, we have closed our eyes to an entire world. We have closed ourselves from pieces of ourselves, each with something to show. In our haste, and in our desire to be first, or to be right, it is easy to overlook what lies just beyond, or right in front of us.

Perhaps no one is to say what is right versus what is wrong, for in the end we must be able to accept what sits in our own hearts. We must be able to accept our actions or inactions, and our thoughts, both constructive and destructive. It is difficult enough to find understanding in our own thoughts and actions, let alone in the thoughts and actions of others. If we can allow others the freedom to discover themselves, then maybe one day we can find a common understanding, an understanding that was always there, but just overlooked.

When we hold on to our own personal truths so tightly, it is easy to lose sight of the greater picture. In the hopes of justifying ourselves and our past actions, we can often overlook all that is around us. Clouded in our own beliefs, we can lose perspective as we begin to discount others including those we hold dear.

As we find ourselves in more self-isolation, we must ask whether we have really followed the truth, or forsaken it out of fear of being wrong, or pride for wishing to be in the right. As if to hold our arms crossed against our chest, we can often find ourselves defending something without asking “why?” Why if we have truly found inner peace do we defend something so strongly and disallow others from finding it themselves?

No amount of preaching, repetition, or immersion can force a person to understanding without first the will and the desire to understand. This comes differently in each person, but we must be patient enough to allow it to bloom in its own time and nurture it with love from all sides.

If you are standing in the middle of a road and all paths disappear, do not fret. If water rises from the ground and all roads melt into one, do not fret. If your tracks get swept away and everything in front of you looks the same as in back of you, do not fret. All paths become one eventually.

Late or in a rush, all paths become one. Do not run frantic to find the start or meet its end, for you are already there. Stuck in a crowd or out on a limb, do not panic for you are already there. Enjoy this fluid life. It sets no boundaries. This is not a contradiction, just something to the mind, it does not please.

In this life we hold so dear,
We are most captivated by our fear.

If but once we could let go,
We could see what this life truly has to show.

So worry not anymore,
Enjoy this existence like never before.

When a wolf knows he’s a wolf, what will you tell him? Will you convince him he’s a man? Will you try to tame him like a domesticated animal? Will you tell him not to sharpen his teeth at the dinner table? Will you scold him for howling at the moon? Will you tell him not to slaughter the sheep?

When a wolf thinks he’s a man, what will you tell him? Will you dress him as you please? Will you hide him from himself? Will you introduce him to your friends? Will you call him by his name? Will you turn your back with ease? Will you unleash him upon your enemies?

We can ask others for a way out, but until we are ready to accept what our heart has to offer, no gem of truth will see its weight in gold. Until we can learn to accept what we know to be right, we will continue to wander and seek a path deeper into a forest of confusion that we create. When we hold our thumbs up as if to measure ourselves against another, we might as well chop off that thumb, for we measure ourselves against that which we do not know. Seeking the middle path is not always the same as seeking a path of understanding, for in seeking the middle path, we may compromise ourselves while at the same time turning our back on others. Fight not the rushing river. Scale not the steep cliffs. Seek a road to your heart. Seek a road to understanding.

painting credit: Middle Road by Margarita Georgiadis

When will your soul be satisfied?
Will it be satisfied when it has found eternal bliss?
Will it be satisfied when it has found its master?
Will your soul be satisfied after you’ve lived a saint’s life?

When will your mind be satisfied?
Will it be satisfied when it can be convinced of the truth?
Will it be satisfied when it can hide its lies?
Will your mind be satisfied when your heart takes a backseat?

When will your heart be satisfied?
Will it be satisfied when it remembers unconditional love?
Will it be satisfied when it no longer aches?
Will your heart be satisfied when it’s seated at the thrown?

When will you be satisfied?

The past is blind.
The future is unwanting.
All you need is in front of you.
When you are presented with your brother, do not look for another.
When you see an empty field, do not dig.
When you want to speak, but the words cannot flow, do not look for a book to read.
The past is blind and the future is unwanting.

All that you need is before you.
When the truth is revealed and some would rather change it, do not swallow your tongue.
When the weak are trampled, and some would pick the pieces, make them whole.
When the innocent are defiled and some would turn their back, do not walk away.
The past is blind and the future is unwanting.

All that you need is inside of you.
When your heart sinks and you want to throw it away, do not cry in anger.
When your tears run dry, and you want to hide, stand in the center.
When your fingers claw at your skin, and your flesh becomes a prison, set yourself free.
The past is blind and the future is unwanting.

All that you need is all around you.

Spare not the truth, lest you should deny it yourself. Sometimes it is not your choice as to what others are to learn. We serve as teachers for each other, wittingly and sometimes unwittingly. We can choose to avoid situations that may cause discomfort, anxiety or anger in another person, but what will come to be, will be. In choosing a path of avoidance, we are sometimes presented with a lever that only quickens the inevitable. This lever does not remove free will. It simply pressures your hand. What you choose in that moment will affect not only the immediate circumstance, but all circumstances to follow, for you and for those you wish to spare. Avoidance, for the sake of avoidance is not love. It is denial wrapped in the guise of love. Love is honesty. Love is understanding that what one has to offer may not always be accepted. Love is understanding that although some may turn their back on you today, that others will come to understand another day. Love is being there when that day comes. Open the door to your heart, but do not slam it when someone decides to choose another path.

Free will cannot be taken away. The creative will to explore and to be oneself cannot be taken away. The physical body can be imprisoned, shackled and tortured, but the free will of the spirit and soul cannot be removed. Some may try to influence others through overt or concealed deception, but these deceptions are meaningless because the heart cannot be deceived. Whether through deceptive words, appearances, or actions, the heart knows truth, and is the seat of unconditional love. The mind, if allowed, is a door for all else. It knows what it knows, based on what it is told, sees, and experiences. When working with the heart, it acts like a gatekeeper. By itself, and left unchecked, it can be an oppressor.

To influence the heart, is to speak the truth and to speak openly without judgment or condemnation. To influence the mind, is to appeal to the ego. To remove undue influence, quiet the mind so that the heart may be heard. If it cannot be heard, wait. If one cannot wait, then Be.