In the hectic world of today, everyone is seeking some way to ease the burdens of life. There are so many philosophical approaches available that people don’t know which to try first. One of the most popular seems to be Zen. There is no aspect of your life that you cannot take a Zen approach to. You can meditate on everything going wrong in your life, and find a calm and serene way to… ignore it.
The problem with Zen is that it is actually part of a religious way of life, that takes years of practice to master. It was never meant to be a way for every person to escape their responsibilities or problems. The true practitioners of the Zen philosophy are amused and ashamed of the casual methods that so called “novice” Zen believers utilize in their lives. But hey, it’s a free country, whatever works for ya baby.
This is what I think, and I’m just your average Joe Public. It is my belief that in order to straighten out the tangled webs our lives have become, we first need to cut some strings. Then, give the whole mess a thorough scrubbing. Cut the ties that hold you to your past mistakes, forgive yourself for the hurts you caused others, forgive those that hurt you. Cut from your life the things that stress you, or learn to accept the ones you can’t cut. Wash away the misconceptions you have of other people and circumstances. Wash from your mind the angry thoughts and the guilty feelings you try to hide behind or from others. When you have learned to do these things, you can start over with an open mind and a clean conscious.
What you will be left with is a Sparkling Spirit. A Sparkling Spirit is the essence of being content. Clear thoughts, honest emotions, compassion for others, empathy and sympathy for all people, respect and appreciation for ourselves and the rest of the world.
Take this list and keep it on your bathroom mirror, everyday read them out loud and work very hard to practice them for the entire day. Eventually, they will become a part of the way you live your life.
I will be honest with myself and everyone around me.
I will not allow myself or others to be ashamed of my behavior.
Kindness and consideration are deserved by everyone.
Treating the rest of the world in the way you wish to be treated is simply an expected attitude. Having to work so hard at it is a sign of the corrupt world we live in. Taking it upon ourselves to change the way we as individuals live and look at the world, is how we can all work to changing the entire world.
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