I am indebted to Rob Levy who inspired this conversation.
There's only one problem in Life.
Wait! I didn't say there's only one problem with Life.
That would be my personal opinion, my evaluation, my
point of view
which, while worthy (maybe) of some discussion, argument, or
debate doesn't interest me much in and of itself. There's
no problem with Life.
I said there's only one problem in Life. Implicit in this,
is there's
nothing wrong
with Life itself. But there is one thing, not like an opinion but
rather like the start of a chain of events which can and
does set off domino effects of problems. It's the most
pernicious thing I know.
I assert it's the single pivotal problem to which every
other problem which we regard as a problem devolves, to
which all other problems extrapolate back. This core problem (if
you will) pivots on the presence or the absence of a self-generated
context,
with which things and events have the possibility of being
simple,
and without which the same things and events have little
possibility of being anything other than difficult.
The only problem there is, I assert, starts with being
unwilling to consider the possibility that things are the way they are,
and they aren't the way they aren't. Furthermore, the only problem
there is, starts with being unwilling to consider the possibility that
things are
OK
the way they are, and the way they aren't. Everything else is just
commentary. Every disagreement with this basic
Zen-like
tenet is just cheap opinion. Every argument against it evidences a
futilehopelessresistance
to its domination.
Simple
things
show up
as difficult when I'm not standing in the possibility that
things are OK
the way they are, and aren't the way they aren't.
Simple
things
show up
as difficult when I'm more interested in my own version of the way
things are, when I disagree with the way things are (as if
that ever makes any difference), when I have a contrary
opinion
about the way things are, especially when I hold my contrary opinion as
more sacred than
what's so. This doesn't
relegate the value of holding opinions or of respecting others'
opinions. Holding opinions and respecting others' opinions is the
basic building brick
of all great civilizations. So, for that matter, are all our noble and
heroic
attempts to fix, change, and make better everything which
we regard as difficult, everything which we regard as a problem, if not
for ourselves then for others. It's this which defines the
compassion of all great civilizations.
I'm talking about something much more fundamental than
that. When things aren't OK the way they are and the way
they aren't, when I don't look from, when I don't generate the
context
that
things are OK
the way they are and the way they aren't, then I've established a
ground of being from which all problems
start. That's when
simple
is difficult. When
things are
OK
the way they are and the way they aren't, when I look from, when I
generate the
context
that
things are OK
the way they are and the way they aren't, then Life works. Then Life is
simple.
What's more, when I look from, when I generate the
context
that
things are OK
the way they are and the way they aren't, I notice Life has always
worked and always will work ie I stop lying
about it.
When Life works, when Life already works, there are no
problems. There are no problems by definition. There are only
opportunities.