A friend of mine, who has been struggling to make a few key decisions in her life, said to me something like “I don’t want to live the rest of my life doing the same things.” But then she goes back to doing so, for now (that’s what we all think, for now).
Like my friend, I have done the “for now” return many times.
This returning doesn’t define either of us, but it does make me think that the mind is so desperate for things to be stable and predictable, even if it’s causing a crap load of suffering.
We aren’t patient enough to let things fall apart on their own accord. To do only what is necessary, and then get out of the way.
When Zen Master Shitou wrote of not wasting time, I think he was talking about everything extra.
The endless rounds of blather about making changes (soon).
The pressured effort to make things change (sooner).
The fussing over or fighting whatever is happening now.
People, myself included, seem to do everything in our power to resist liberation. It’s like we are addicted to punishing ourselves.
As if it’s not enough to experience the pain the first time around.
Photo Credit
The Microsoft Office Clip Art Collection
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Time is definitely a human invention. And yet, our lives in this form come and then go. There’s an interesting tension to work with there.
I like the elephant maxim. Makes a lot of sense.
Thank you for the comment.
Hi Nathan,
Your post inspired me to write this. If we are present in the moment, are we really wasting time? And isn’t time a human invention, when the present is a universal that has always existed?
I find that, at 63 years of age, I still waste time (for lack of a better phrase) doing many of the same things day in and day out without changing much, although I know I should if I want to better my life. I believe we sometimes try too hard to change, and sometimes try to change too much. Perhaps we should like by the maxim, “You can eat an elephant if you take small bites.” So, maybe the answer to wasting time is to be eternally present and to change in small ways.