It’s Monday!
We’re at the start of a new week, let’s see what this week has in store for us…
Our teacher for this week is Alan Watts. He was an English writer, speaker, and self-styled “philosophical entertainer”, known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy for a Western audience. He wrote more than 25 books and articles on religion and philosophy, and his 1957 book “The Way of Zen,” was one of the first best selling books on Buddhism.
“Don’t hurry anything. Don’t worry about the future. Don’t worry about what progress you’re making. Just be entirely content to be aware of what is.” – Alan Watts
“The future is a concept, it doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as tomorrow. There never will be, because time is always now.” – Alan Watts
Hmmm…
How do we make sense of this?
How do we “plan for the future” if “the future doesn’t exist” …
I can only share with you how it works for me:
When I pull a pen and a piece of paper closer to write down some “goals” or an “intention” for the day, the week or “my future”, I am still being present. What my present moment activity then is, is to look into the future and create a picture, a map so to speak of what I’d like the future to be.
And then when I put down the pen and piece of paper, I remind myself that the map is not the actual territory. I can’t place my feet on the map, on the piece of paper. I can only place my feet right here in this present moment and the map – my goals – they are what help me decide where to place my attention in this present moment, where to focus and direct my energy right now.
I can plan for the future of course! But the future doesn’t actually exist, I can only apply my action right here, right now. And the action that I take this very moment, is what creates my next moment.
Some supporting thoughts from Alan Watts on how to create at our highest potential:
“By replacing fear of the unknown with curiosity, we open ourselves up to an infinite stream of possibility. We can let fear rule our lives or we can become childlike with curiosity, pushing our boundaries, leaping out of our comfort zones, and accepting what life puts before us.” – Alan Watts
“Life is not a problem to be solved. Life is an experience to be had.” – Alan Watts
“We thought of life by analogy with a journey, a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at the end, and the thing was to get to that end, success or whatever it is, maybe heaven after you’re dead. But we missed the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played.” – Alan Watts
“You must not be afraid of playing wrong notes. Just forget it, play it wrong! But play!” – Alan Watts
In conclusion – the future is not a thing that exists, yet the eternal present moment is always in motion, and we will meet an older version of ourselves year after year. So we have to always do our best right now.
Not do our best to get to some future finish line in a way that is acceptable to society, but do our best to participate in the invitation that life extends to us right now. The invitation to dance. The invitation to play without fear of playing the “wrong” notes.
Step into your week with curiosity:
- Embrace the Imperfect: Remember, it’s okay to make mistakes. Learn from them and move forward.
- Live in the Present: Focus on the possibilities that this moment makes available to you.
- Play with Life: Accept what life places in front of you right now. Approach life with a sense of humour and lightness. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
- Trust the Process: Have faith that everything unfolds as it should, and that all you need to do, is do your best from moment to moment.
Are you ready to unleash yourself upon this week with a spirit of curiosity and playfulness!? Let’s dance to the rhythm of life together.
Have a playful week peeps!
– pierre –
Today’s LIVE meditation is: Jumpstart the week!