"The source of what people
do
and what they don't do is that people's actions are in a naturally,
necessarily directly connected dance with the way the circumstances on
which and in which they are performing occur (show up)
for them."
I'm driving on Highway 1, the spectacular mostly oceanside
road
that traverses the entire west coast of the United States of America
from Canada to Mexico. Few who have driven it are left with any doubt
whatsoever that it's one of the most spectacular
roads
to be driven anywhere on
Earth,
and certainly one of the most beautiful and inspirational - that is, if
it's indeed appropriate / fitting to deem a
road
either "beautiful" or "inspirational" or both, at all.
Highway 1 weaves tight esses left and right, up and down
as it meanders left and right past rocks and cliffs, up and down over
hills and gorges. You'd better not have a specific time by which you
committed to reach your destination when you're driving to it via this
route. That's not to say you couldn't have one, or shouldn't make one,
or are unable to estimate one. It's because you wouldn't want
to. The best way to fully appreciate a drive of this magnificence,
of such splendor, is to not commit to any particular arrival time, and
to simply arrive when you arrive. You'll want all the time in
the world
to appreciate a drive like this as fully as possible for as long as
possible, uninterrupted, undistracted.
I've got my hands on the steering wheel in the "ten o'clock" position,
holding it firmly but not tightly, consciously but not concentratedly.
I watch in a kind of
cosmic
bemusement
as
the road
goes by, seemingly all by itself. All the curves and bends are going
by, seemingly all by themselves ... and that's when I notice something
else, something that puzzles me / perplexes me when I first notice it.
"Am I imagining it? Or is it really happening?" I ask myself.
What I notice, is this: I don't seem to be doing anything with my hands
... and yet it's them turning the steering wheel, not me.
How can it be? If I'm not moving my hands, then who (or
what) is moving them, causing them to turn the steering
wheel and steer the car?
This is a discovery! To put it further to the test, without letting go
of the steering wheel I consciously stop steering. I relax, and watch
what happens. And it happens again! I can barely grasp what I'm
witnessing; I can barely let it in. What I see is this: when the car
gets to a critical point in an ess, my hands turn the steering
wheel even though "I" have made no attempt to steer. Neither
have I made any attempt to control my hands. I've sent no message to
them to turn the steering wheel. And yet ... as the next ess
approaches, there it is again: my hands are turning the steering wheel,
smoothly, easily, and perfectly, executing a smooth, easy,
perfect turn.
What I've seen, rocks me to the core: if I'm not directing my hands to
turn the steering wheel and thereby steer the car, then (again): who
(or what) is steering the car? Asked another way, who or what is the
source of the
action
of my hands turning the steering wheel? It's clearly not I. But if
it's not I ... then who (or what) is?
And that's when I hear (or re-hear) (as if for the first time)
Werner
distinguishing for
the world,
the
source of what
we do.
Said another way, I hear (or re-hear) (as if for the first time)
Werner
distinguishing for
the world,
the
source of our actions.
And when I get
it (or re-get it) (as if for the first time), I'm astonished at how
obvious it is, astonished at how simple it is, astonished at how I've
never gotten it before with such stark, demonstrable clarity.
This is what he's distinguishing (this is
Werner Erhard):
So Highway 1 occurs (shows up) for me, meandering left,
meandering right, rising, falling ... and my action
(steering) is in a naturally, necessarily directly connected dance with
the way Highway 1 (circumstances) occur (show up). It's my hands
turning the steering wheel, connected with (in a dance with) the way
Highway 1 occurs (shows up) for me, and I have nothing to do with it.
That's the
source of my action
(steering) - dramatically, incontrovertibly demonstrated. Wow! ... I
mean ... just ... Wow!
All at once, I've gotten who (or what) is really steering
the car: Highway 1 meanders to the left? My hands (in a dance with the
way
the road
occurs for me) turn the steering wheel to the left (and "I" have
nothing to do with it). Highway 1 meanders to the right? My hands (in a
dance with the way
the road
occurs for me) turn the steering wheel to the right (and "I" have
nothing to do with it).
Listen: this is profound. But it may not be obvious at first, that the
source of the action
that steers your car, isn't you.
The source of the action
that steers your car, is the way the meandering
road
occurs (shows up) for you. And that may not be obvious / easy to get if
this idea
doesn't fit into your
categories.
But look: don't believe it just because I said it. Try it on for size
for yourself. If it fits, take it:
it's all yours now.
And if it doesn't fit, discard it, and drive on. Spectacular Highway 1
is calling.