164. Power And Responsibility

We know that great power means great responsibility. But in truth, our responsibility is always great, regardless of our power. If we are attentive and aware, we understand that we are responsible for all of the suffering that exists. We must be responsible, for if we are not then no one is. The suffering of an individual does not arise in isolation. One person’s suffering is connected to the suffering of every other, and we cannot completely eliminate our own suffering without helping others eliminate theirs, as well.

163. Empty And Full

He stands perfectly still and takes the deepest breath he can. His head is swirling with thoughts, as it always is. There are too many thoughts to manage, so he does not try to manage them. He lets them come and he lets them go. Now is not the time for thinking.

He lies down on the floor and takes several deep breaths before standing again. He lifts his arms high over his head, as high as they will go. Reaching up, the stretch burns as the tension is pulled out of his muscles. Accumulated stress has taken physical form and he is trying to release it. When he is finished with his arms, he stretches his legs, his torso, his neck and then returns to the floor.

162. Complete Honesty

Complete honesty is more difficult than it might seem. It takes more than providing an accurate description of the facts and events. It takes more than attributing actions and words to the correct people. It even takes more than carefully including everything that is known about the matter at hand.

Honesty requires me to be aware of the things I do not know, and to express my uncertainty fully. To do this requires great humility, for the biggest impediment to honesty is always the self. What I believe and want and fear can have a enormous influence on what I say and do. If I am not aware of these factors and their ability to alter my words then I will always speak something less than the whole truth.

161. A Method For Liberation

You know that your problem is attachment. You can’t help wanting things, and you easily become attached to these desires. You know this causes you to suffer in the form of stress, jealousy, anger, grief, anxiety, and so many other painful feelings.

You want to break free from your desires. You want to know what you must do to bring an end to attachment. You want to be given a list of actions, a method you can follow to extinguish your suffering. You want a method because it seems like this is all you need. Once you know what to do, you’ll be able to free yourself by carefully following the method.

160. Let Your Children Run Free

You’ve been practicing your art for a long time. Your work is getting better, more sophisticated and more interesting. Or at least it seems that way to you. You know your judgment is far from objective, and it doesn’t mean others would think the same.

The problem is that you’re isolated. You’ve been working quietly on your own. Other than a few close friends, no one has seen your work. You feel a need for some kind of recognition. You don’t mean fame. You just mean someone to see what you’ve made and give their opinion of it.

159. The Ability To Surrender

A person lacking in critical judgment hardens himself against the evidence his beliefs are false in the same way as a person who is lacking in empathy hardens herself against feeling the suffering of another as her own.

In both cases, the person retreats into the self and rejects the other, ignoring it or fighting against it. The alternative is to surrender — to allow the evidence to prevail over the false beliefs, and the suffering of another to prevail over the false peace of isolation. Through surrender, the self gains an opportunity to grow into more, precisely by accepting a part of the other.

158. Nothing Is Wrong

She has no idea what she is doing. She is fully aware of this and she has decided she is fine with it. What she’s trying to do is to make something, but she doesn’t know how to do this. There’s no plan or process to her actions. She’s only playing around, trying to see what might be possible in the medium, and what might be possible in her.

Nothing is wrong, everything is right. She keeps telling herself this as she plays. She’s making something. It’s emerging at this very instant. She can’t say what it is, only that it exists. She knows it exists because she can see it right in front of her. She’s following her intuitions, allowing them to shape her creation in the way she envisions it. Her vision is admittedly more lofty than her ability, but still she presses forward.

157. Barren Of Possibility

We sometimes do things that are wrong and harmful. We do these things not because we are lacking in knowledge or intelligence, or because we are especially malicious or evil. The real problem is that we are lacking in awareness. We cannot see the reality of our experience, and so we cannot act well.

We see instead a world of distinctions, where everything is divided up into neat categories. And we are divided too, not just from other people, but also within ourselves. We want to think we are one person but we are many, with parts for each of our desires, aversions, and beliefs. Our parts are in perpetual conflict, each fighting for dominance over the others. We simultaneously want to get everything we desire, escape from everything we hate, and confirm all of our beliefs.

156. Proximity To Intentions

Intentions are a central part of life. I notice a leaky pipe and I set an intention to repair it. I want to swim on the weekend, so I set an intention to go to the community pool. I remember there is a penalty for filing a form late and I set an intention to avoid the penalty. I hear that a friend has received an award for excellence, and I set an intention to congratulate them. I discover an interesting book, and I set an intention to read it.