The last several weeks, after
having gotten back from our holiday in Nova Scotia, I’ve been weeding. There’s
a lot of weeding to do, believe me. I have wood chip pathways throughout much
of the property that’s nestled among the indigenous, natural growth of
wildflowers, grasses, blackberries, and other assorted plant life. All this
growth is native to the Cumberland Plateau.
I have a wet-weather creek
(about 200 feet long) that originates well into the Catoosa Wildlife Management
Area that our property abuts. When a heavy rain falls, the creek and its ponds
will flow for 10 days or so. The creek, landscaped with natural river rock,
houses all sorts of frogs, toads, skinks, a few crayfish, and several large
green turtles.
When it’s been raining and the
verdant green of the yard is lush and all the critters are happy, it is a
beautiful relaxing park-like setting. However the weeds like it, too. To keep
them under control is a crawling, knees-on-the-ground, very manual effort.
While I’m crawling along, I can almost see the ticks, chiggers, biting flies,
and fire ants texting each other: “It’s Party-Time!” Brother, do they all
respond! To them I’m a slow-moving buffet with excellent, healthy blood.
Nevertheless, while I’m weeding
my mind is generally pretty neutral. I’m in the NOW with the natural universe.
I’m not debating anticipated arguments. I’m not reminiscing about my selective
memories of my perceived past – neither “good” nor “bad” memories. I just am. I
am weeding. I am uncovering a nest of ants. I am watching a black snake or a skink
(a form of Gecko) or a sunning frog. I just am. And, while in this neutral
state of mind, thoughts come – some of them rather profound. Yesterday, while
cleaning the creek banks and bed, I realized my thoughts are like these weeds.
Weeds just pop up. Rain. Pop.
Weeds. There’s nothing wrong with weeds – they are natural – unless they are
where I don’t want them to be. Unattended, they’ll grow and produce more weeds.
If I let them go, my creek begins to be overrun. I need to be a little vigilant
and disciplined with them.
I began to think: “It’s the same
with my thoughts.” They are always running though my head. They are constant.
If I’m awake, my thoughts are there. Awake. Pop. Thoughts.
Where do they come from? I think
sometimes they spring forth from some perpetual wellspring of little thought-babies that are created from
nothingness and, as they mature, migrate from my unconscious to my conscious
mind where they move from one ear to the other then out into ether. The only
thing that seems to stop this flow of thoughts is to focus on one for a while.
But when I do that, the flow doesn’t seem to abate. All that seems to happen is I’ve somehow
created a new “channel” for other, similar thoughts to show up. Where did all my
other thoughts, that had been in the queue, go? Thought-baby heaven? Perhaps. Maybe that’s right next door to the
place where all my missing socks have gone. And keys. And lost receipts.
I guess my point is this: I
realized I will pull up a weed in order to keep it from crowding out a flowering
plant. I am not pulling up a weed because it is a “bad” plant. If I don’t, the
weed will multiply and it will become more difficult for me to stay on top of
things. It is the same with how I treat my random thoughts. These little thought-babies are not “bad” things.
They just are. I am training my higher mind to keep them a little under control
so they don’t crowd out my ability to hear the whispers of The Divine.
Things can go “wrong” when I’m
weeding. Sometimes I do think weeds are “bad” things. They are ruining the look
of “my” yard. What’ll the neighbors think? Without weeding properly the
property value of our house will decline. We’ll become poor and be reduced to
eating dog food on crackers. The weeds will crowd out my vegetable greens and
we’ll be reduced to eating more dog food on even more crackers. Then our pups
will starve. Would I then boil their bones to make a broth in which to cook
some rice – a welcome relief from the steady diet of dog food?
Of course, I’m being facetious –
but, trust me, my thoughts can get out of control at times and lead me to a
merry-go-round of insanity. And that’s exactly where my ego likes me to be, so
I’ll turn to it and ask it for help. It’ll gladly provide me with “answers”
that underscore the ”reality” of lack, the “reality” of vulnerability, and the
“protection” of proper vigilance against the dog-eat-dog world it wants me to
believe in. All that is equally insane – but that particular form of insanity
is hidden from me because it’s such a common perception.
I think I’ll continue to pluck
my thoughts like weeds, refusing to pay attention to them, and continue
training my higher mind to listen for the whispers of true reality – the
whispers of The Divine: “Don, you and I are One. There is nothing we can’t
handle.” As the Introduction to A Course in Miracles (ACIM) states: “… This
course can therefore be summed up very simply in this manner: Nothing real (which is only Love) can be
threatened. Nothing unreal (which is
everything else) exists. Therein lies the peace of God.”
Although these messages are
mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this
message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual
journey.
Don
#2 July, 2014
Copyright, 2014