““The art of living…is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.”
― Alan Wilson Watts
Each time I left or someone else has. Each time I thought I had it together only to smash on the rocks, each time I hit a new low in despair or thought I had, one thing has kept me going. Life has been so strange, so unpredictable that I just can’t wait to see what will happen next. It’s not the cliche that each day can be the start of something new and different, its that each moment can be. Something precious that can’t and won’t come again. All it takes is a willingness to leave the past behind. That can be a rough one because sometimes the past is not finished with us nor us with it.
I don’t see myself as clinging to the past but the thing about travelling in spirals is that we come around again, if not revisiting an old moment at least gaining new perspective on it. It’s amazing sometimes the things we can learn to forgive ourselves for at least if we are willing to forgive the others involved as well.
Blessings G
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Phoenix Mandala by G A Rosenberg
Greetings From a Fractal Universe by G A Rosenberg
i was introduced to alan watts by my philosophy professor in college. i love him & his books were an enlightening trip. i love the quote you choose. living in the moment. but as you stated the spiral comes around again & there are still things from the past that you can learn in the moment of now. reflection is good for the soul. it helps to release the demons that may be haunting you. or if you look at something differently it may teach you more about consciousness. great fractal. i love the buddha. good writing of your thoughts.
Forgiveness is a concept I truly struggle with. Not because I believe in holding grudges, or harboring resentments. I just do not believe it is up to me. In fact I’m not sure its even supposed to be a part of the ever changing picture of LIFE. The Tao is older than God. With God [BE GOOD] came forgiveness. The Tao teaches acceptance [of everything].
Oh and one more thing. I was taught that it is only the moment that is alive. So, If the past finds its way into the moment of the present, it is alive. And if the future finds its way into the moment of the present, it too is alive. In this context we can decide what to do with each and every very alive moment. No matter where they are sourcing from, they are the present moment, and the only thing alive.
The tricky part if to be able to overcome our judgement about past or future thoughts. Especially now-a-days, when everyone’s chanting “In the moment” while they imagine how they are not thinking about the past and future but they indeed are. If only trying to stave of the images. In this context everything in the moment is dead. The paint on the palette dry as long dead bones.
I’ve been meaning to answer all day 🙂 Many of us definitely spend our time ‘living’ in whatever moment our life or memory has brought us too…I agree that very few of us have mastered being with the moment we are in — we find ourselves defined by the past — defined, redefined and as you show so well refined by whatever time you visit. Thank you as always. Namaste
Intelligent thoughts.
Thanks
ENLIGHTENMENT is the very core of our being; going into the core of our self and living our life from there. We all came into this world gifted with innocence, but gradually, as we became more intelligent, we lost our innocence. We were born with silence, and as we grew up, we lost the silence and were filled with words. We lived in our hearts, and as time passed, we moved into our heads. Now the reversal of this journey is enlightenment