“If, however, it’s realized that every so-called thing, including you, is actually motion, there is no expectation of stability; there’s never any form to hold or to understand. There is simply a magical dance of ever-changing appearances.” — Darryl Bailey, Essence Revisited: Slipping Past the Shadows of Illusion (p. 7), New Harbinger Publications
It’s hard to put into words the import of today’s theme.
But think about it.
Everything does change and we’re powerless to prevent it, even the Billionaires who are, apparently, working on a serum to stop ageing.
Perhaps our brains aren’t wired or adapted to notice let alone accept that we live in a world of movement. Subtle mostly, but everything is always moving on to something else, even those things that look stable and fixed.
Imagine though if we took it to heart. What might happen? Well, for starters, we might realise that we’re not in control of anything. It really is a mystery. (That feels vaguely liberating to me.) We might — I only say might — stop taking everything so damn seriously. And, apropos of our senses, particularly our thoughts (which forever taunt us), we might realise that one day they’re one thing, the next they’re just as likely to have moved, subtly or otherwise, on to something else.
Of course, none of this woo-woo verbiage cuts it in the heady, neoliberal world that’s come to dominate our lives. That world functions on certainty, results and of course, growth. You know the drill. But throw into the mix (and I warn you this going to sound really odd) the fact that we label things to make sense of the world but they’re only labels and never describe the actual thing — never — and (perhaps) things start to take on a very different perception. Real, I grant you. Try changing the label, not in a comedic way but just to feel what it’s like. If you did, you might realise, or at least this is my perception, that all of this is a mystery. Sure, it’s one we think we’ve made sense of and function in but when push comes to karmic shove, the truth is that we’re talking about an unformed, wordless, moving, shifting experience.
And (of course) we’re at the centre of all that or rather our awareness is. You heard me. It’s our awareness that gives us our sense of being and not some little homunculus directing the show.
I’ve lost you. Right?
In any event, what the bloody hell has this got to do with living a normal life on a planet that’s slowly but surely being torn apart?
Not a lot.
Then again, if we stopped long to self-enquire (What am I?) we might, and I say this very loosely, see the world anew. No, that isn’t to postulate some sudden realisation or awakening but we might start to see the beauty in the ever-changing nature of our existence.
Until tomorrow then.
PS. I haven’t forgotten that I’m supposed to be writing a follow-up piece (or two) to my “Work – Part 1” blog that I shared a few days ago. I promise it won’t be so long!
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