230708 - Sacrifice - (Evening)

The Ups and Downs are intense. They capture me, still. Today I felt great concern in acquiring sustenance. Eating alone at a restaurant, that is. But I brought a book and once I left my room it was the most natural thing. There was nice live music, and I induldged in dessert. After a while it got a bit loud and crowded, and so I paid and left. It was movie night at the Yoga place, but I didn’t want to rush my dinner so I was an hour late. Then I decided not to go. It just unfolds. Suffering is not in experience. It’s in the mind. I think back to Master Gu. Solid feet, Relaxed body. This is mirrored in life. The ying-yang dynamic. With precision and gentleness we hold awareness, attention, consciousness, experience. Precision and gentleness. It’s the most beautiful thing.

We talked about Karma Yoga today. Sacrificing the fruit of our actions. It’s all about how we relate to it, the underlying intention. Usually we’re so caught up in our narration that we barely notice the actions themselves, it’s all just the way to get somewhere. The hand that is writing is forgotten behind the words themselves. Instead we devote all of it, sacrifice the actions themselves. Our whole life becomes a ritual, sacred. They are done with purity, grace. Simply by cultivating precise gentleness. Whatever happens, happens. We just plant the seeds with a loving heart. Allowing each breath to stand for itself. Thus we transcend time, and take a seat with the mythology of Old. All we do is cherish it. Experience itself. Really allow it, give it space and attention. Radically we live life, all of it, pain and pleasure. Give me all of it!

Here we find Grace. I am grateful, for everything that’s brought me to where I am. To myself, for being resolute despite all of the hardships. All the times I’ve wanted to give up. All the tough emotions. Everyone I’ve met along the way, who’ve brightened the path with their joy, their laughter, their smiles, their presence. They inspire me to keep going. The only way to repay their love is to keep the torch burning. Sincerely, whenever, even if just I, who’s reading, Thank you.