When It began, it seemed a good idea,
Challenge a body, try to dig them up.
Digging and digging,
To find the hidden spring,
A magical well with hidden waters pure and deep.
Standing in the ditch,
Wet clay beneath these feet,
Can’t stop digging in automatic pilot,
Digging and digging a deeper, bleaker hole,
One without the faintest hope of ever climbing out.
Inspired by Ruth’s beautiful words:
In the dark of the ditch
words lose their shine
in a moment of glitch
comes a hint sublime
climb out or cave in
dig down or build up
joy without or within
words seem to give up
then the dark is no pain
digging is not in vain.
Beautiful Ruth. Thank you for sharing.
And Suhas,
As always, very timely for me!
Very interesting to read the analogy as journey down into depths. I often feel the journey as a lateral one, where I move through one wall into a new room. Sometimes it feels like I am looking in and cannot find a way in, until suddenly - there it is.
Here’s my inspiration:
[U]Passage[/U]
I look for the entrance
And find nothing but windows
Glowing blue windows
Looking new
Pushing against the building
I press my face against the glass
And feel my hot breath
Liquefy the blank wall
Then walk in at an amiable pace
With plenty of time
Suhas your words are an exception they do shine. Thank you lotusgirl your kindness and Flex Penguin and Suhas’s words have come right on time for me. Did you wright the words of inspiration Flex? And why is your name Flex Penguin? (if it’s o.k to ask, sorry if it’s not). I think I feel quite alone, I do have a way through/out, I’m just indulging in a bit of self pity. Thank you for what I found to be support.
I did write that some time ago. The name came up when I was thinking of names for my yoga studio. And maybe self pity can sometimes be self love, don’t you think? We all need that.
Yes, but which self are you talking of, the selfish self or the one true self, or are they both the same? (you see how confused I am)!
That’s a good question, with many bigger brains than mine postulating the answer. I feel I have only one self. But, like rubbing my feet on a carpet, I get full of static electricity at times and attract or repel things depending on the strength of the current. Sometimes you think that thing stuck to you is part of you, but it really isn’t. I guess that’s why I am drawn to yoga and meditation. It can reverse the polarity and some of the stuff falls off so I can feel my true self again. And yes, that true self can be a bit selfish at times.
The true self, is that atman? I didn’t think it could be selfish does it have an identity? I know that this may look sarcastic without a personality to animate the words, but it’s a genuine question, I pick up knowledge in bits and pieces, then it gets mixed up and unappetising, so I’m looking for someone to add the right ingredient. It’s late and I’m waffeling but I hope someone can shed some light on it to guide me.
Ruth,
Take any route, but the spiritual journey is from “self” to “Self”. However the secret is that “Self” is nowhere out there, not even THAT Atman; it is right in our own self. Those ‘bits and pieces of knowledge’ that you pick up is the problem. This knowledge is a manufactured knowledge and that is selfish. It arises from the basic error of “Me and everything ELSE”, “This and that” - a mode in which our mind works automatically.
That’s why the spiritual path is of realization, of unlearning. So, first give up imagining that atman or soul or Ishvara or the Spirit is sitting apart from you. It is in every cell, molecule and atom of your own being.
If we engage ourselves in a true enquiry to find “Self” we see it in every other cell, molecule and atom of “other” objects too. Then, life comes “alive” present in everything. Our own self and everything else appears like one single family. How can that be selfish?
In the end, you realize that what you take as self is only the physical body, the real self has always been the Self. This then is not your knowledge, but a reality as true as the beautiful morning you wake up with.
“but a reality as true as the beautiful morning you wake up with”
as slept real good, dreamless last night.
[QUOTE=Ruth;67705]When It began, it seemed a good idea,
Challenge a body, try to dig them up.
Digging and digging,
To find the hidden spring,
A magical well with hidden waters pure and deep.
Standing in the ditch,
Wet clay beneath these feet,
Can’t stop digging in automatic pilot,
Digging and digging a deeper, bleaker hole,
One without the faintest hope of ever climbing out.[/QUOTE]
Nice one!!!
Not really a poet, but I came up with this last year:
That fire divine blazes bright in the sky
In its distant depth I see a glimmer of hope
That this mighty splendour could be mine
If only I were to stop seeing the snake for the rope
You are really a poet Surya.