“My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Understanding Our Mind: 50 Verses on Buddhist Psychology
I am here today to espouse the importance of finding one's own way in the world despite every obstacle and because of love. This means discovering those actions that express the art and beauty within you, the notes that resonate with every other living being.
These days I am experiencing consequences of a lifetime of actions and probably longer. My 7th decade has ushered in an intense sense of vulnerability. I feel unsure of how to proceed on so many fronts: from men to friendships to providing for my future to maintaining my sanity.
Sorting out sanity from neurosis can be a tortuous path full of self-recrimination. To view a divided mind without becoming lost in it, one must find the entrance to a broader, more expansive understanding of who and what one is.
Thich Naht Hanh also says that understanding is the key to love.
I find keys when I listen to the dharma (aka nature of reality or universal truth). One irreverent teaching can make me laugh and remember that every situation, every person, even every thought, provides the opportunity to take a different perspective and a right action.
My life is full of right actions - the work I do, being kind to others, caring for my father, caring for my dog, dedicating the merit of my meditation to all sentient beings - but still I am tormented by my thoughts. I believe the seeds of my right actions will bear fruit - perhaps they already are - and eventually the tormentors will fade away for good.
I trust in the Buddha that when health and money run out, the crop I've cultivated will surprise with comfortable boughs on which to rest, a harvest to sustain, and sweet smelling flowers to make me smile.
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