I am indebted to Scott Andrews who contributed material for this
conversation.
How often have you heard it spoken ie averred (indeed, how often have
you spoken ie averred) that "the truth" is
"Life is the way it is, and it isn't the way it isn't" - or any other
such "the truth" for that matter? With that posed, let's
consider that where any "the truth" imposed as averment careens toward
becoming un-listen-able and so may not be powerful, any "the truth"
as speculation has power and leverage. So for the purposes
of this conversation, I'll put "the truth" in quotes.
Any time anyone (especially me) comes at you imposing their
"the truth", here's what you should do: immediately take
them out behind the barn and slap them over the head with a wet noodle
(I'm playfully harkening of course to the
"Whack!"
of a
Zenmaster's
wooden broadsword here). Rather, inquire with them into
their "the truth". See if you can
discover it for yourself.
Speculate on it. Don't blindly believe any imposed "the truth"
(especially mine). Dogmatic imposition befogs "the truth".
Werner
Erhard
is widely acknowledged for distinguishing very early on in the piece,
the axiomatic
"The truth believed is a
lie"
(from which I infer: a lie is the natural
devolution
of believed truth). It's an insightful look into what renders "the
truth" as imposed averment as not powerful, and "the truth" as
speculation as powerful.
With all that now in place, saying it's "the truth" that "Life is the
way it is, and it isn't the way it isn't", is
good enough for
jazz.
And if we are that that's true, then accepting things the
way they are and the way they aren't, makes for living
congruent with life.
And living
congruent with life
is a smart (very smart) way to live, yes?
In other words, if "the truth" is that "Life is the way it
is, and it isn't the way it isn't", then the possibility
that naturally goeswith (as
Alan Watts
may have said) "the truth" that "Life is the way it is, and it isn't
the way it isn't",
is the possibility of ...
being
accepting!
To wit, if "THE truth" is "Life is the way it is, and it
isn't the way it isn't", then "THE possibility" (ie
the possibility that goeswith "the truth") is
the possibility of being accepting. And then
my thesis
would have to suppose that there's such a thing as the
possibility -
in the face of
an infinite number of invented possibilities. But that's
good enough for jazz
also. What the possibility for me is, is the possibility
of being accepting (of life the way it is, and the way it isn't).
That's
Zen
(very
Zen).
Life is the way it is, and it isn't the way it isn't.
Black and white.
No gray. When something is the way it is and isn't the way it isn't,
it's perfect. So life is perfect. Don't lie about it. Ergo
if you don't accept
this
(where
"this"
is any unresolved issue you may have) as perfect, then you can't move
on
(resisting
whatever
this
is, is
futile).
The way
to move on (or at least your
access
to
the way
to move on) is by accepting
this
ie by being accepting of whatever's going on - exactly the way it is,
and exactly the way it isn't. Simply put: before you can move on, you
have to be accepting of
this
- or: before you can move on you have to be where you are.
Really.
Please don't rotely agree with that just because I said it. Yes it's
sublime. Yes
it rocks.
But if you agree with it without
discovering it for
yourself,
you'll turn it into just another fortune cookie bon mot. Rather,
check it out for yourself. Experiment with it for yourself. Take it out
on the track for a test drive. Try it on for size. Discover this has
real power and leverage: the possibility of being accepting, is the
possibility that goeswith "the truth" that "Life is the way it is, and
it isn't the way it isn't.".