There comes a moment in the life of a man of promise when the promise becomes undeliverable and the options evaporate into the ether of "what ifs." It is at this precise moment when the road forks into two gloomy throughways.
The first points toward compromise. The second toward danger.
Whichever way our traveler veers he'll find stones in his rucksack and pebbles in his shoes.
Like a tall tree bent by a gentle wind, the agency we inappropriately call free will is both less and more than we think. The forces that brought our hero to this crisis point are immaterial.
The wasted efforts, failed romances, geographical dislocations, unwanted pets, bad jobs, bad digestion, poor investments and unsolicited riches have all played a part in David's undoing. But the past is immaterial. It's his next move that is the subject of this screed.
What little zest that's left is squandered on fantasies of rebirth, new love and a quiet retirement in a cottage by a lake.
David, je t'attend!
According to the ancient rishis life is directed and ruled by elements, these embody qualities that every being is in contant struggle to keep in balance. For example, the change in seasons , directed by the wind or vayu in your observation above, encourages any obstructions to be released insuring that flow is
ReplyDeletepreventing stagnation and balance occurs. Too much wind in the mind can causeall all kinds of excitable disturbances, too little, causing lethargic stillness, freezing the impotence of life force. When a man is frozen his qualities of air are out of balance. Food embodies these energies as well. One must find an alchemical relationship with all things, taking them in moderation. Fall, signifies a transition, pulling energies inward, becoming lighter. It is said that air flows freely in one whom has cultivated surrender. Faith being the essential component. No man can transpire without being intune with these qualities, he has to learn to
pacify his tendencies , air represents all forces, movement is a result of these forces. Anytime one touches something he experiences the quality of air, therefore as one can see , no man is without qualities until he is able to transcend his attachment and direction of these forces. The act of reception of air tactily on the skin, or thru the lungs as breath is perfect example of this animating force. How much you receive and what is released is a tell of its quality in time and space, is it cool, dry, rough, spasmodic, subtle, soft loud, gasping. Man haschoices with his breath, he can propel inward in contemplation, reflective, out ward in society in action, he can be uplifted with his breath or sink downward, idealy these fluctuations need to be moving into the center where stabilty centers all qualties leading to a life of balance and flow.
Merci, Anonymous, for your thoughtful and empathic comment. It is rare indeed to be confronted with the possibility of achieving tranquility and balance. I hope that my good friend David Schoffman reads your remarks -I couldn't possibly paraphrase them with any justice - for I find in him a unique form of metaphysical opacity. Maybe there's a deficit of gentleness in his life or maybe there's a poverty of tenderness. Whatever it is the tempest of disquiet will consume him if he doesn't find the right posture for repose. Whoever you are, I'm in awe of your wisdom and the generosity with which you offer it to a stranger.
Delete