Entering Into Life

The attitude we take towards any task or undertaking reflects on how we view our self. The completed task is the outward projection of what is within us. A task done with quality and completeness corresponds to a quality and completeness within while a task half-finished or done sloppily reflects a sloppiness within us. The importance of the task is irrelevant with regard to the quality and completeness with which we undertake it. Whether we are doing life-saving surgery, writing a book, washing a car, or tying our shoes, we need to focus all of our attention and concentration on that action. In effect, we want to enter into the essence of it.

By entering into the essence of something, we mean becoming one with the action we are performing. In Japanese there is a word shoshin which means “beginner’s mind.” As a beginner, the first time you do something you have to concentrate on it in order to do it correctly, but as you become adept at it you soon stop paying attention to the doing of it. The idea of shoshin is to retain the mindfulness of the beginner even as the task becomes routine. In this manner you are able to enter into the essence of what you are doing and that makes all the difference. Doing anything without entering into its essence is pointless and empty. However, the more fully you enter into something, keeping mindful of it, the more point or meaning it has and the more alive you feel by doing it. Musicians, dancers, or artists who are able to enter into the essence of their art, become their art - they transcend the doing and are just being. By entering into the essence of your daily tasks you can begin to wake up to the great secret of life – living. The quality of living that results from entering into the essence of everyday life is profound. By entering into the essence of things, it is possible to feel a connection to the creative principle of the universe. But only by actually being mindful of what we are doing can we reach that goal.

By remembering to be aware of ourselves, we begin to learn how to engage in living life as it occurs. By slowing down and experiencing each thing we do to the full extent we beginning to gain a calm sense of control over our lives. By entering into the essence of something and concentrating on the quality of our actions we begin to sense a true feeling of peace within the self. 

Threshold

We stand on the threshold of a profound shift in our world. Industrial civilization has led us down a destructive, all-consuming path that has compromised our soil, food, water, and atmosphere. This way of life has fractured the idea of community and instilled selfish values in the people. It is quickly becoming apparent that our way of living has reached the point where going forward in the same manner is no longer feasible. The time has come to either do something different, or face extinction. 

A growing sector of the population is starting to realize the degradation of the Earth can only be halted when the majority of people feel deeply that the Earth is sacred and should be revered and cherished. The Earth is not ours to ruin and destroy. As more and more people begin to understand what is happening to the Earth, the need for a fundamental shift becomes apparent. An environmentally-focused spiritual transformation is underway. Reverence for the Earth is becoming a sacred calling. 

Wandering Sage Wisdom is part of this process of evolution. We need a better way of living that is connected to the whole. We cannot hesitate any longer.

Most humans are alienated from their vital individuality — their souls — and humanity as a whole is largely alienated from the natural world that evolved us and sustains us. Soul has been demoted to a new-age spiritual fantasy or a missionary’s booty, and nature has been treated, at best, as a postcard or a vacation backdrop or, more commonly, as a hardware store or refuse heap. Too many of us lack intimacy with the natural world and with our souls, and consequently we are doing untold damage to both.

--- Bill Plotkin