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What is the Way, and why does everyone seem to know the Way? How many Ways are there, one or millions? I read this quote many years ago, and decided to share it.
The Way
If you meet a man that doesn’t know, and he doesn’t know that he doesn’t know, ignore him.
If you meet a man that doesn’t know, and he knows, that he doesn’t know, teach him.
If you meet a man that knows, and he doesn’t know that he knows, enlighten him.
If you meet a man that knows, and he knows that he knows, follow him.
Everyone holds the way within, it comes with the body as an essential part of life. Nourish it, expand it’s reach, honor and respect it’s meaning. The way is Love.
© 2009, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
It is my habit, on the week-ends, to go to the local mall and look through the book stores. I am an avid reader of non-fiction books.
On one of these trips to the book store I was looking for a CD of Monk Chanting, I had heard about it on a TV ad.
As I entered the door I was approached by a young salesgirl, she wanted to help me find what I was looking for, and led me right to the CD. Then she asked, “are you a religious person.” I replied that I wasn’t religious, but spiritual. With tears in her eyes she asked me to pray for her, saying her life was a mess.
This encounter was the beginning of several months of brief discussions about her marital problems, and how she could solve them.
Whenever I visited the book store she would meet and talk with me. She felt her husband was cheating on her. About one day a week he was staying out late at night, not saying where he had been, nor what he had been doing. He would say, “I was out with friends, and you should just trust me.” Then a heated argument would ensue, with the accusations leading to verbal abuse and alienation. She could see her marriage slowly slipping away from her. She wanted to find a way to stop the arguments.
Not having a lot of time, I explained to her that since it took two to argue, she could stop the fights by not confronting her husband. She didn’t like that way of stopping the arguments at all. She said, “I am not the cause, he is, he is the one doing wrong, he needs to stop doing what he is doing.”
So for the next several months in quick talks I explained to her that she was not responsible for the actions of her husband. But she was responsible for her own actions. Refusing to argue and taking time to understand and consider the situation was the best approach. I explained we can’t control other people, but we can control our response to other people. It is our attitude that matters, it is the most important part of life.
Finally one week-end she said she decided to try out what I had said about not arguing with her husband and waiting for an understanding of his actions. After that, a couple of weeks went by without her being in the book store, so I thought she had changed jobs.
It was another week before I saw her again working in the store. She came up to me with a big smile. I could tell she was a changed person. She said, “last week I was thinking about what you said about my responsibility, and I could “see” it for the first time, how I truly am responsible for my actions and my life. At first it was very scary to me, like I was alone, by myself, but then the feeling changed to confidence and trust.” She had stopped arguing with her husband, and he had become more concerned about her. She had also applied for a better job and got it. One that paid more money.
Then she said, “I don’t feel like a victim any more, I still don’t know if he is cheating on me or not, but now with a better job and thinking more clearly I can better decide what to do with my life.”
We said our goodbyes, she didn’t need me any more. She had taken a giant step into spiritual maturity, and I was very happy for her.
© 2009, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
Support.
To hold up or serve as a foundation.
Without our Creator’s love and support we would not exist. As we grow spiritually we learn supporting others in their efforts is the same as supporting ourselves. So use every opportunity that presents itself to encourage, and help others on their path through life. Learn about the support groups available in your community, when and where they meet, what they are about, so you can give this information to others or take advantage of it yourself. We all need the love and support of others, there is no reason we shouldn’t ask for it. Most of these groups are cost free and ask nothing from the participants. Another very important thing about most of these groups is they really work, especially the twelve step groups. If you or a friend could be helped by joining a support group do so today.
“It requires greater virtues to support good rather than bad fortune.”
François de la Rochefoucauld
French classical author, leading exponent of the Maxime, 1613-1680
© 2009, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
All things big and small in this world pass. They are born, grow strong, get old, falter and die.
Great civilizations follow this pattern, what happened to the Mesopotamia civilization, where are the Etruscans, the Aztecs, the Mayans, the great Roman empire, the Celts, or the pyramid builders of ancient Egypt. They are all gone. We read about them in the history books, as future children will read about us and our civilizations.
Mankind builds countries, and the borders change faster than cartographers can keep up with them. Wars destroy countries and swallow them up into other countries. Wars destroy whole civilizations.
We build organizations, government, religious, social, and benevolent to watch them wither away and die. Cities, towns, metropolises, and within them corporations, companies, factories, stores, and recreations that dwindle and eventually pass, or change into something unrecognizable.
Even continents break apart, drift, and become ocean bottom. Atlantis, Mu, Eden, and Base earth are gone. What was once lush green forests, become deserts, and deserts become meadows of grass and lakes. Mountains are brought down into valleys, and canyons rise up to become hills.
There is nothing permanent in this world, all is temporary. A great stage upon which we act out our physical lives, a classroom of learning who we are, our purpose and meaning. We learn to love here, to respect and love others, to become greater than when we entered.
While we are in the world, we are not of the world. We are not temporary. Being eternal we will live beyond this world and many more. Learning is our pursuit, and love our destination.
© 2009, Lekatt. All rights reserved.
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