'Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind'
That's how the wise man Solomon once put it regarding desire and envy. A lot of the time we are not at peace with what we have. We always want more. We always try to fill our lives with as much as we can just so we don't miss out on something.
Socrates the famous Greek philosopher said something similar in regard to this. He said those who are at peace with what they have are like a person who collects jars of honey from a bee hive. Once they have filled their jars they seal off the lid and store them away. They can rest easy. Their job is done. However, the one with a constant desire for pleasure is like one who is trying to collect honey from the bee hive but their jars are cracked and flawed. They spend all their time trying to fill the jars but really they are getting no where. It is a form self-enslavement. 'A chasing after the wind'. Meaningless really....
The photo above I took whilst in Hawaii. Along the side of a highway was a scenic spot. There lay a large area of ancient solidified lava that slowly led down to the ocean. I saw this rock and something about it struck me. It wasn't particularly fancy, nor very big. It just stood there. Tranquil. At peace. Well at least I thought that's what it would be feeling if it could think. It is just one of those moments that you feel you don't need anything else. That if all you had was food and clothing you could be content with that. Riches and fame didn't really matter. Why would they when I could have this experience for free? I was in my own place, my own state of mind and nothing was bothering me.
I think if we try to look for these moments more often we would find that they are all around us. I mean if a rock can do that to me then I'm sure a million other things could too. The most of obvious place I find this feeling is in music of course. Tiny little vibrations are grouped together to form patterns that we recognise as notes and melodies. These sounds are more than just particles hitting one another in air and finding their way to our ears in that they somehow can create a meaningful experience of beauty and peace. Instead of chasing the wind, why not listen to it....?
See you next week.
JL
