August 14, 2008: Zen

  At the request of my friend, Doug, in Toronto and through my own self interest I have started to study or explore Zen.  At first it was more about intrigue or casual interest.  Then i discovered that there are a lot of truths in what Zen teaches.  About myself, at least.  i can’t speak for anyone else.  I only know what my experiences have been.  Truth is usually not about someone else telling you how you should or should not feel.  Truth normally is found by seeking it ourselves,  It can’t be forced or given to someone else.  It may have different meanings to different people.

  Over the last few weeks and months I have learned a couple of important lessons in life.

1.  The "moment" IS the destination.  Silly me, for a long time I thought the destination was the goal.  It is not.  Some people say that it is all about the journey.  I would suggest that it is all about the moment.  That moment then becomes part of the journey. 

2.  Moments are like brush strokes on a canvas.  Each moment is a stroke of your life’s paint brush.   Slowly the brush strokes paint a picture – a masterpiece.  Much like seconds on the clock.  Alone the seconds are not worth much, but together those seconds add up to minutes and those minutes add up to hours.  Hours then become days and days become weeks.  Weeks become years and years become decades.  Before you know it your life moments are gone.  Each moment is important.  Actually nothing is more important than the moment.  Where you are right now.  The moment is all we have.  We are promised nothing more or less.  You can OWN the moment.

3.  Searching for happiness is a waste of time.  You never arrive at happiness.  You can’t "find" happiness.  It is not a place.  It is not a destination.  It is not something you can give someone or take away.  It is a place in our mind.  A moment.  It is more than a feeling but it is not tangible.  It is something you can not show someone else.  You can’t tell someone "how" to be or become happy.  You are either happy or you are not.  If you are not happy then a destination to "somewhere else" will not achieve anything except for frustration and regret.  Find happiness in the moment you are in.  Regardless of where that might be or what your situation is.

4.  Decisions are best made while at peace with where you are.  The best decisions I have ever made in life I first knew in my heart were the right decisions.  Every bad decision I ever made was preceded by a feeling of regret (before the fact) or "that little inner voice" that tells you "hey this is not the right direction".   This has been true even when logic would dictate that choice A is better than B – when reality ended up being that choice B was the correct answer all along. 

 5.  Clarity comes from breathing.  When you can find your own space and simply breathe.  Clearing everything from your mind – breathe.  Leaving everything else behind you.  All your emails, mail, phone calls, cell phones, radios, television, and other distractions – leave them in another space for just 10 minutes.  It is a miracle what happens to your body and mind when you learn to simply take the time to breathe. 

Learn to paint with your moments.  Master your paint brush.  It is all you have.  It is all that you truly own.