Just Doing It

The shortest answer is doing. - English Proverb in the Zen Calendar (April 7, 2003).

Day 172. Forty-five solitary miles today. The first 41 looked pretty good. The last four . . . ummmm . . . not so much. Compared to last Saturday, there were some improvements in the stats: considerably fewer dead snakes on the road (though some from last week have become indelibly imprinted upon the asphalt), zero times on the verge of puking, no cramping body parts, only two salt tablets consumed. Zero liquid left when I pulled into my driveway. Good thing I decided to wait until next week to go for 50 miles.

Peak Experience! While pondering possible volunteer activities over the past several weeks, my thoughts kept returning to Habitat for Humanity. I checked my e-mail for the first time in several days and lo! and Behold! There was an invitation to join an upcoming Women Build in Cleveland county. It included a site link on which I could sign up to be contacted when they begin their organizational meetings. I jumped on it. I sling a pretty mean hammer, and the idea of doing something physical is especially appealing since I spend all day torquing around with my brain.

I continue to marvel at the way a strong sitting practice impacts my life. At a fundamental level, the most influential aspect is the stark, simple fact of getting my butt on my cushion every single day for almost six months. When I write about sitting still for 35 minutes and breathing, it sounds so inconsequential it is almost absurd. Yet the concrete reality of actually DOING (so far!) what I set out to do is profoundly empowering. I have always emphasized and valued the execution of my ideas and promises in the real world. In all honesty, however, the ratio of what churns in my head to what manifests in my actions is about two to one.

Zazen is changing that. I vault the abyss between the imagined and the experienced much more frequently. Something about sitting meditation shortens the leap between my ideas and my actions. There is an immediacy and clarity in my thought process that is remarkably conducive to bringing hypothetical musings to fruition. It makes me feel sane. From riding bike routes I envision to planning a trip to Durango to outlining the novel I've carried in my mind for over ten years, I am actually DOING!

I don't have to be Mistress of my Unconscious to know that working for Habitat for Humanity is an approximation of my desire to emulate Greg Mortenson's work in building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. For now, it is clearly a more realistic goal than plopping my blue-eyed self down in Korphe (Baltistan). A beginning. A step. Movement on the road to enlightenment. A damn good way to spend my Saturdays.

Gassho,
CycleBuddhaDoc