The Year in Review
I’m officially “on vacation”, meaning I only work a full-time job for the next month or so. I haven’t had this amount of time off for about a year, and I plan to take full advantage of it…by doing nothing for a little while save watching old Kurosawa films and drinking beer in the middle of the afternoon.
With some time on my hands to sit down for a second and ponder the year in review, I can honestly say that this year has been one of the most significant and perspective altering in some time. I’m not sure how to sum it all up, but here are a few overall lessons that have permeated my conscious experience this year:
* Confront fears as often as possible. Fear is kind of like an onion in that as soon as you peal back one layer, a new one is exposed. You discover who you are through these layers of fear…like it or not. Ultimately, fear and liberation go hand in hand in the same way that freedom and responsibility do.
* The limits of analytical thinking & the wonders of the senses. This is a biggie for me. Because I have trouble putting this one into my own words sufficiently, I will defer to a quotation: “There are three ways of knowing a thing. Take for instance a flame. One can be told of the flame, one can see the flame with his own eyes, and finally one can reach out and be burned by it.”
* There is great power in self-discipline. If it is exercised regularly, it simultaneously helps us remain grounded and graciously accept the nature of change.
* There is greater power in the Unknown. The wise are therefore understandably humble.
* All secrets to living and all solutions in life are revealed through the breath. This is and is not an abstraction.
* Our paths in life are all different. We walk them alone, and do the best we can. If we’re lucky, we have people along the way that make it all seem a lot less lonely and inspire us to have the courage to become the people we already are.
With some time on my hands to sit down for a second and ponder the year in review, I can honestly say that this year has been one of the most significant and perspective altering in some time. I’m not sure how to sum it all up, but here are a few overall lessons that have permeated my conscious experience this year:
* Confront fears as often as possible. Fear is kind of like an onion in that as soon as you peal back one layer, a new one is exposed. You discover who you are through these layers of fear…like it or not. Ultimately, fear and liberation go hand in hand in the same way that freedom and responsibility do.
* The limits of analytical thinking & the wonders of the senses. This is a biggie for me. Because I have trouble putting this one into my own words sufficiently, I will defer to a quotation: “There are three ways of knowing a thing. Take for instance a flame. One can be told of the flame, one can see the flame with his own eyes, and finally one can reach out and be burned by it.”
* There is great power in self-discipline. If it is exercised regularly, it simultaneously helps us remain grounded and graciously accept the nature of change.
* There is greater power in the Unknown. The wise are therefore understandably humble.
* All secrets to living and all solutions in life are revealed through the breath. This is and is not an abstraction.
* Our paths in life are all different. We walk them alone, and do the best we can. If we’re lucky, we have people along the way that make it all seem a lot less lonely and inspire us to have the courage to become the people we already are.