Let me put this vision in your mind. Imagine a sailboat, wooden, lying to her anchor in the electric blue water of the Bahamas. Her sails are furled, lines coiled, brightwork sparkling. A short distance to leeward, a pinkish-white beach is lapped by gentle wavelets.
Float around the boat with me. It's a beautiful day. A cool breeze wafts out of the north. The boat is painted white, her sheer is elegant, set off by a deep green stripe. Reflected by the water, the sun sparkles against her graceful sides.
A man rows a varnished wooden dinghy towards the beach. Tomorrow, he'll get underway and sail south, reaching across the ocean to the next beautiful, empty island.
It's an idyllic dream, this. Powerful enough to launch a million voyages. Stand with me at the bow and look across the blue, sparkling sea. Look down at the sandy bottom and the fish sheltering in the boat’s shadow. Smell the ocean, hear the waves gurgle against the hull, breathe. Watch the sun glide toward the horizon and set orange and blue.
Do you feel that? The peace?
You are as alive as you've ever been. You have no ambition, no anxiety, no jitters, no craving. You, the boat, the sea, the island, the sun, the sky are one. You are all one slow moment after another, blossoming…sacred…together.
Opened up like this, you are also vulnerable to all the stupid cruelty and suffering in the world. Even at peace, your heart may shatter. Let it. Confront heartbreak and despair with awareness and compassion. Confront despair with love.
You don’t need a boat. Here is another moment, in the mountains.
Hiking alone up a deep gravel ravine on the northwest flank of Mt Rainier. Far above, a blue-white Glacier hangs like a cathedral, suspended over a ravaged coulee. The summit, somewhere above, is hidden in swirling cloud. Grey-white meltwater crashes down the mountain, gathers in a newborn river, and tumbles over boulders the size of pickup trucks. The exuberant young river roars and rumbles down the broken ground to the green valley below. High up, near the face of the glacier, rocks break loose and clackity-clack their way down the scree.
Stretch out in the sun on a warm flat rock above the river. Feel the providential sunshine on your face, arms, and legs. Sip a little water, nibble some cheese, nod to a chunky Marmot across the ravine stretched out on his own sunny rock. Breathe. Close your eyes. Be quiet. Forget.
There it is again! Peace. Joy. Awareness. In a rush, you understand that you, the sun, the mountain, the river, and the marmot are all beautiful expressions of the same joy. And comes too, the heartbreak. If we are all the same loving stuff, why do we tear at each other so? Why do we dig and rip the earth? If all is love, why such suffering and cruelty?
I have no answers for you. I know not why—my capacity for cruelty surprises. I've caused many others, loved ones even, to suffer. If not complicit, I am guilty. We all are.
But, I also know this - facing suffering head-on, confronting it in moments of quiet meditation is the way. Contrast the beauty of one love with suffering, and weep. But don’t despair. Use this energy to generate fierce compassion and freedom. Know you are not bound by rules or expectations. Know you are free to love. You don't need to hide.
Why do daffodils bloom? Why does my dog sprint in crazy circles on the beach? Why do hummingbirds buzz between flowers? Why do chickadees build nests of twigs, moss, and dog hair? Why do mushrooms push up through the forest duff?
Joy. Joy and love.
I know, I know…y'all are thinking this sounds like new age hippie nonsense. I'm being all squishy and soft. But what if it's true? What if all IS one, and the one IS love?
Play us out, David.