A Panda's Journey
“We have a tendency to think in terms of doing and not in terms of being. We think that when we are not doing anything, we are wasting our time.
But that is not true. Our time is first of all for us to be.
To be what? To be alive, to be peaceful, to be joyful, to be loving. And that is what the world needs most.”
— Thich Nhat Hahn
To be or to do? I say both.
Let us always “be”, even as we do.
Meditation is a wonderful place to cultivate “being”.
“The discovery that the experiencer is the experience, is meditation.”
— Jiddu Krishnamurti
Two people can be sitting next to each other in the same room of a hundred people, watching a sports game & may experience completely different things.
They are in the same environment. Surrounded by the same people.
Watching the same game.
Yet they have a different experience than the people around them.
Same thing if you’re watching a play, or reading a meditation book, listening to music, or walking in nature.
You may hear & read & see the same exact things that others are hearing, reading, & seeing, yet you have your own interpretations of the experience.
It’s good to have your own interpretation.
All children are living from their individual perspective until they reach a certain age & the world sort of takes away their individuality & tells the person what to think, how to feel, and how to interpret things…
So as we age we sort of lose ourselves as we conform to our surroundings, but what if we didn’t?
What if we kept our individuality?
What if we understood the power of conformity, & then we understood the power of our individual self?
What if we stepped away from the crowds, & decided what we actually thought about things?
Your perception is your reality.
And how we feel about it?
Do not disempower yourself by adopting other people’s perspective.
You are it!
“Who wants to live to be a hundred? What’s the point of it? A short life and a merry one is far better than a long life sustained by fear, caution, and perpetual medical surveillance.”
— Henry Miller
Maybe it’s human instinct to want to live as long as possible, but is it worth it to live long if you are miserable?
The answer will differ for everyone.
But it is possible to live a disciplined & strong life, while also having joy in it.
To each their own.
“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.”
— Ludwig Van Beethoven
To the athletes & artists, this is for you.
If you are passionate about what you do, you will become great.
You will fail over and over again, but if you are passionate, you will never give up.
Let the apathetic ones give up.
Let them laugh at you for being so passionate & obsessive with what you do.
Ignore those losers – they’ve already lost so they try bringing others down into their misery.
Ignore the haters. Stay far from them!!
Do your art or your sport with passion. You will make mistakes, but never let mistakes define you or put you down.
Get back in the game. Get back in the art.
Play with passion.
Live with passion.
Never give up.
Always keep going.
“A single storm at sea teaches a sailor more than a thousand calm days on land. Value the lessons of the storm, for they are the ones that truly save you.”
Most of us prefer calm days to stormy ones, but it’s the storms that teach us the most.
If we never experience storms in our life – we won’t be prepared for life.
Life happens. Your car breaks down. You lose your wallet. A storm destroys your basement. You lose men on your ship when a storm hits.
Life happens.
The best way to be prepared is to experience storms early in your life.
When you’re young it’s helpful to have a parent or captain lead you through your first storms, but you must learn how to handle the storms on your own.
Storms will inevitably happen in your life – as they happen to everyone.
Don’t fear the storm & don’t run away from it.
Look at the storm & learn that it is here to help you become stronger.
“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.”
— Jean-Luc Godard
Are you a sideliner or a player? Perhaps both.
Sometimes on the sidelines and sometimes the main character.
When we lead in life, we must fully go into that time and space as a leader.
Even when we are on the sidelines we can watch life fully – we can jump into it.
And we owe no explanation to those who watch us.
The majority of people are more watchers of life than livers of it. And that’s ok.
The next time you are leading something, I encourage you to fully jump into your role, embrace it & enjoy it – & worry not about how others may perceive you.
Trust yourself.
“I would always rather be happy than dignified.”
— Charlotte Bronte
Is happiness something only for children?
As people age, it appears that any true happiness leaves them. (Not everyone, but the majority).
Many people get more death-like as they age, and less life-like.
The true joy they had a child leaves them as they learn about the “real world.”
In the real world you discover some people who only find “happiness” at someone else’s pain….thats not happiness or joy; that is sickness.
But if the majority of people are sick, and even world leaders promote this sickness – it’s difficult to find true happiness.
So, it is great to be serious, but we can also be happy too (& not “happy” at someone’s pain).
How can you discover a real happiness again?
That’s a great question, and the answer will be different for most people.
What did you enjoy when you were younger?
Do you have any hobbies that you actually like?
Turn the television off. Ignore cruel politicians & never befriend a person who laughs at someone else’s pain.
You’ll never be happy if you laugh at the pain of someone.
Think about what you enjoy, and take time to do some of that.
“There are many ways to calm a negative energy without suppressing or fighting it. You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it; you read some inspiring words, you listen to a piece of beautiful music, you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation.”
— Thich Nhat Hahn
Negativity is a part of human society.
Positivity is too, but negativity seems to be “winning” so far.
It’s easy to watch the news and get emotional and angry.
70% of USA politicians intentions are to provoke negative emotions in people.
It’s easy to take the negative bait of a politician – but then you’re caught like a fish.
It’s easy to be negative. It’s easy to be angry.
It’s easy to hate.
And the majority of people conform to “easy” because what is great is difficult.
It takes time to be positive.
It takes being intentional about your mental health.
It takes ignoring cruel politicians and focusing on good leaders and being a good leader.
But yea, Thich Nhat Hahn has some good ideas about how to calm negative energy:
— Invite something nicer to replace the negative
— Read some inspiring words
— Listen to beautiful music
— Go somewhere in nature
— Do walking meditation
“When an archer shoots for enjoyment, he has all his skill; when he shoots for a brass buckle, he gets nervous; when he shoots for a prize of gold, he begins to see two targets.”
— Zhuangzi
In this life there is work & play, and some people get to play for work; athletes & artists mainly.
The best artists and athletes really love what they do.
To most of them though, it is still work & requires extreme effort.
The fun gets taken out of the game & the art as we age, but it doesn’t have to.
Just because others have lost the joy of the game or art doesn’t mean you need to. Don’t conform.
If you love the game, play. You’ll become great.
If you love the art, do it. You’ll also become great.
“You can’t discuss the ocean with a well frog, he’s limited by the space he lives in. You can’t discuss ice with a summer insect, he’s bound to a single season.”
— Zhuangzi
There are a range of people on this planet – with a range of experiences and beliefs about life.
You have your own unique experiences in life, and sometimes, if you have extraordinary experiences and try explaining them to others – they don’t understand what you’re talking about.
So, sometimes, when you have an extraordinary experience, the best thing you can do is keep it to yourself.
For me that experience would be when I ate magic mushrooms for the first time. It’s an experience that literally can’t be explained to people – even to people who’ve taken mushrooms.
I did try explaining in actually though, 10 years after that trip, here.
But I really keep that experience within myself – not needing or wanting to explain it to anyone.
With Ken Thompson 