Good Things Don't Get Lost

You're thinking of revolution as a great all-or-nothing. I think of it as one more morning in a muggy cotton field, checking the undersides of leaves to see what's been there, figuring out what to do that won't clear a path for worse problems next week. Right now that's what I do. You ask why I'm not afraid of loving and losing, and that's my answer. Wars and elections are both too big and too small to matter in the long run. The daily work - that goes on, it adds up. It goes into the ground, into crops, into children's bellies and their bright eyes. Good things don't get lost. - Barbara Kingsolver in "Animal Dreams."

Day 224. Peak Experience! Two new followers! Gassho, and Welcome to APoxOnMyBlog!

I don't know Barbara Kingsolver personally, but her knowledge of me cuts straight to my soul. She is saving my life from the inside out. Validating, affirming, and - most precious of all - putting concise, provocative words to the jumble of thoughts and feelings reverberating in my breast. Ms. Kingsolver strings words together with such astonishing beauty that sometimes I weep while reading her novels. Guffaw at others. Connect at the molecular level. Yearn to construct one sentence in my life that comes close to her artful mastery.

The above quote was penned by the character Hallie in Animal Dreams. Hallie is a female embodiment of my friend Tom, and I suspect of Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, as well. Some people simply stride out into the world and do good things. Build schools. Nourish crops. Pull teeth and fill cavities and teach tooth brushing to the world's most impoverished children. These are my models and my heroes. They are giving me the tools I seek to inhabit this planet in the manner to which I aspire.

Barbara Kingsolver didn't represent Hallie as Buddhist, but she clearly is a Bodhisattva. Walking the earth in loving kindness while engaged in Right Action. Her observation that wars and elections are both too big AND too small to matter in the long run resonated deeply. The cost, energy, ego, and futility of both these absurd maneuvers violates all manner of reason and logic. Meanwhile, some people get up each day (or most days) and take action that has a positive impact. Actions that count. Actions that don't get lost. Actions borne up by reality and truth and substance.

Zazen is grounding me in the clarity necessary to live like Hallie. Most mornings I wake up and move into the day with intent to take Right Action. I no longer aspire for Save the World Action, and I never was one for Get Lots of Attention Action. I just try to show up on time. Be present and attentive and compassionate in my therapeutic work. Return my phone calls promptly. Keep my home and office organized enough to complete tasks efficiently and allocate my energy mindfully. Yield to cars entering traffic from the on ramp. Park my shopping cart where it belongs. Tuck my ego away so that I can peer around it and focus outside myself.

This is my beginning place. The visible world portrays the illusion that everything must be larger than life to matter. That is not true. Unreasonable aspirations fuel disappointment and self loathing, which is paralyzing. The Great Truth emerging from this year of sitting and blogging is that Doing Right - on any scale - DOES matter. Occupying the world with sincere intent for good is our truest nature. Trust this. Act upon it. Good things don't get lost.

Gassho,
CycleBuddhaDoc