Dear Friend,
As I see it, the turning point is from complaint to gratefulness.
There is a stage beyond that – neutral, but that seems much
further on.
Of course we all want what we want, but what we want is
sourced from our conditioning and it didn’t work for those
who conditioned us, so it is not likely to work for us – is it.
Complaint is a contraction, and it keeps us from seeing and
appreciating that what we have is what we need. And what
we need is usually very different from what our neurosis wants.
A way of looking at all situations is that in that very moment
we are getting exactly what we need. And whether we are
getting what we need or not, we are getting it anyway, so
might as well be with it and extract the maximum potential
of that very moment.
So the turning point is from complaint to gratefulness.
And to whom are we complaining anyway!
Hello, anybody up there listening?
And even if there was, what could they do with seven billion
people all complaining at the same time!
There is a tradition in Zen called The Lion’s Roar. It happened to me.
It is after realising that there isn’t anyone appropriate to whom
to complain – parents, partner, society, not even a God.
It is the last bit that does it- not even God.
And of course, even if there was a God, He, She, It, is all knowing
so they/it are giving us exactly what we need anyway!
So complaint, or gratefulness…
Sending love
paul
