Photo #1: Mickey Z.
Mickey Z. -- World News Trust
October 15, 2020
“We can't plan life. All we can do is be available for it.”
— Lauryn Hill
What’s not to love about Lauryn Hill, right? But… what in the world does it mean to be “available” for one’s own life? If you’re alive and breathing, isn’t that availability enough? I suppose it’s for each of us to decide but for me, I’d venture to say that Ms. Hill is highlighting the reality that life (or consciousness) rolls on whether we choose to participate in it or not.
As John Lennon sang about life, it’s “what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Or while you’re busy scrolling on your device instead of making other plans.
To become more available for your life would mean recognizing the essence of the moment (more on that soon) and sticking your neck out to feel and live that essence.
Which brings us to another quote:
“Let everything happen to you: Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.”
— Rainer Maria Rilke
The tricky part of sticking your neck out is, well… you know the rest. Rilke reminds us that at times, we’re riding high and other times, we’re down in the dumps. We have virtually no control over what happens next but we most certainly can control our reaction to it. We can decide how receptive we are to the beauty and the terror — and everything else across the spectrum.
We should become available for all of it because “all of it” is precisely what our lives are made of. And “all of it” can and will change in a flash.
Still, if no feeling is final, how can we ever know if a feeling is real? Perhaps our next quote will point us in the direction of truth…
“Life is available only in the present. That is why we should walk in such a way that every step can bring us to the here and the now.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
I’d suggest we just arrived at our destination except… there is no destination. We don’t graduate into the present moment. It’s here whether we make ourselves available for it or not. The practice is to seek the present out and sit with it — as often as possible. How does one do that? Here are a few suggestions for, as Thich Nhat Hanh puts it, walking your way into the here and the now:
1. See the Past For What it Is
The past is a lie. Think of it as a memoir rather than an autobiography — a revisionist version of an already skewed individual perception. We can look back and see the past in any way that serves our current purposes. In that sense, the past is a liar.
2. See the Future For What it Is
Speaking of liars, welcome to the future. Its first lie is that it exists. No one is promised or entitled to anything more than the present. Which brings us to another lie about the future: That it can be known.
3. Be Like Pooh
"What day is it?" asked Pooh.
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.
Photo #2: Facebook
My take-home message (at least, for now): No feeling is final but, only in the present can we make ourselves available for all of it. That’s what these quotes and concepts add up to mean to me (at least, for now). What I’m wondering is: What do they mean to you?
Mickey Z. can be found here. He is also the founder of Helping Homeless Women - NYC, offering direct relief to women on the streets of New York City. To help him grow this project, CLICK HERE and make a donation right now. And please spread the word!
