The Way of a Simpleton

What are the limits to the sky?

Where does the Universe end?

These questions are not as useful as "How can I help you?"

The simpleton extends her mirror further than her arm can reach, and so can take in the view of those around her -- while the powerful walk around with their mirrors smashed against their noses -- and they propose that you get in line and follow them!

The space between the simpleton's wisdom and the pronouncements of the powerful is about the distance between here and never there -- the Mother knows this and so would draw you to her breast, while those others will be lucky to even catch a glimpse of her toes...

Though the Mother seems distant, she lives in the still point between every breath of every living thing. This "Place" is the threshold to Paradise. Never seen, yet it is the fertile ground of every possibility.

(From The Tao of Old Dan of Walking Green Mountain)

The way of a simpleton... life is the supreme teacher! Look at the cracks of a mountainside... don't the cracks tend to fill with greenery? Look at the lines on a face... look carefully between the lines... look at the hands of such a person: are they, too, lined... and are they unclenched? Yes, to live is to "entertain" suffering: but do you greet suffering as an unwelcome guest? Or have you learned to welcome all who come to your door as a teacher and not as an intrusion? In this is revealed the great artistry of the One Love Consciousness who animates both Matter and Being for hospitality and delight...

Wisdom is the grace to accept, like water, whatever is thrown at it... wisdom is also the intelligence to know the intention of the one doing the tossing. Sure, life happens: but what are your intentions? Do you anticipate occasions to curse or harm? Do you look for opportunities to manipulate, gossip, or blame? Do you live as a magnet for negativity and accusation? Or do you tend to look for the good in others and in situations as they present themselves? Do you intend kindness to the world in which you live? Do you practice beauty and gentleness in your lifestyle and expenditures? Intentions: are the stuff of greatness... or a steady descent into misery...

The way of a simpleton is, on the one hand, a clear rejection of the "wisdom" of the dominant systems of Power. But on the other, it is a joyous return to our natural condition of radiance: we were created by Love, for Love, to become Love: our capacity to love is therefore without limits! We have been crafted by the finest macro-brewer imaginable! Everything is tinged with Light... as if from the inside-out... Everything is a mirror of splendor... as its essential nature... The way of a simpleton is the luscious life to be found in the cracks!

Do you see what I see? A world of hungry children, of endless grief, of harmfulness, of greed and injustice, of a rapaciousness that would endlessly oppress women and exploit the Planet, and of every conceivable justification for violence, hatred, and inequality... But keep looking: do you see what I see now? A world suffused with forgiveness, of kindness, of a rising gentleness, of gracious compassion, of mutual-aid and the holy competition of sharing equally, of soils revered and waters protected, of creatures cherished, of the liberation of every person and all peoples to pursue their dreams of full development -- not for gain, but for giving -- and of the great melting of the weapons and guns of war into instruments of peace and beauty... I see a fruitful time of justice and equality, not as another force, but as a daily inspiration for the very good of everyone and all... I see radiance blossoming in sacred intentions to practice possibilities... I see Sacred Circles animating personal and social transformation... I see a Living Unity of World Religions: an easing away from the need to define or control, into an expression of compassion and gratitude for the incredible gifts of Life and this precious blue Planet... oh, yes, I do, of course, see a lot of work in the getting from here to there... but that is what the way of a simpleton is for: to give meaning and purpose to all the cracks...

So what is keeping you from saying, "I'm awake and ready!"? "Come, my friends, 'tis not too late to seek a newer world." (Tennyson). 

---