“Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”
~ Thomas Merton, Catholic writer & mystic
My favorite quote. And ah, what another gorgeous summer morning here in the VI. It’s been an interesting couple of days, as I’ve chatted with a few people about our housesitting position.
One friend asked: “What would I do with myself all day??”. Another would continue her on-line work here, with some hopes of getting up from the desk to just go outside and breathe in the ocean air. Many others are interested, but can’t imagine how to take 6 weeks for themselves. Or can’t figure how to get away from their own houses, pets, children, jobs. Or are fearful of what this might bring.
To me, this is a sign of our times.
Pema Chödrön writes: “We can spend our whole lives escaping from the monsters of our minds … Most of us do not take our situations as teachings. We automatically hate them. We run like crazy. We use all kinds of ways to escape — all addictions stem from this moment when we meet our edge and we just can’t stand it. We feel we have to soften it, pad it with something, and we become addicted to whatever it is that seems to ease the pain.”
In Europe, of course, it’s mandated that people take extended leave from their jobs. It’s considered mandatory to good mental wellbeing, as well as necessary for a happy family life.
How did we buy into this mess? To quote the Dalai Lama, about what surprises him most about humanity: “Man. Because man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
Are we all just leading lives of quiet desperation, going to the grave with the song still in us, as thought by Thoreau?
I’ve been there. I’ve worked 12-14 hour a days, to the detriment of my health and wellbeing. Yet, I’ve worked my way out of this nightmare. Slowly. Maybe I write here every day as a testament to that. I help people develop websites, so that they too might be able to build freedom businesses, ones that won’t leave them strapped to a computer 24×7. There are days when I think that upon my return from our break, I’ll go to work at Home Depot or a jewelry store. It’ll be easier, and pay the bills. But I won’t … I feel compelled to help mankind escape our common misery. But how … ?
When was the last time you spent a day doing absolutely nothing? Could you? Could you meditate for just five minutes before you meet your edge where the monsters of the mind prompt you to run like hell ? Freedom and Self Care takes time, patience, effort. I’m still learning my way, but I hope to be able to show it to you someday ❤
