Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Advice for Humans

Be kind. Not when it's easy, but when it isn't. Not only to the those who are kind to you, but more importantly to those who are not kind to you, and to those who do not even notice you as they rush by and knock you over. Be kind to them in your heart, as well, not just in your speech and actions. Try to help them. Try to heal their hurt, because unkind people are hurting. They are hurting themselves as others have hurt them.

Try to smooth out the wrinkles in your brow that you are permanently etching there by frowning, smirking, furrowing, and distressing. Do not distress. It is pointless. Take action, or let go. The only other choice is moral and emotional destitution.

Remember that everything you do is a choice. Nothing is a choice, and it is a valid choice. Inaction is a choice, and can also be a valid choice, but it is a choice that most people make too often. Take action, but take it easily. Don't push too hard, more than necessarily. Move smoothly through the world. Find your balance and save your strength for the things that matter.

Write down what is most important to you, and take time to do it. Write down who you are, thoroughly and precisely. What is your unalterable essence? What beliefs are you unwilling to ever compromise? What sacrifices are you unwilling to make? What do you love enough to die for? When do you thrive, and when do you wilt? This is what defines you. Write down these things, and read them every morning and every evening until they are not the mere interesting facts about yourself that you share at a party, as they are right now. Know them as you know your face in a gleaming mirror. Wear them as your wear your jacket, your jeans.

Do no harm. This is an impossible mandate to follow perfectly, but one of the most worthwhile. Do no harm to yourself, to other humans, to other living animals, to the water and air, to your country and your culture. Whatever you put into the world around you, first ask if it is non-harmful, and then ask if it represents the truth of your being. Feel free to create abstract art that nobody understands or admires, to write silly pop songs, to dance in new ways that no one finds beautiful, but don't paint the walls with your hatred, don't sing in praise of injury or misery, and don't dance in someone else's space.

Bake a loaf of bread, and then give the entire thing away to someone who is starving. There is nothing like the smell of fresh-baked bread when you are hungry, and there is nothing like the taste of food when you've gone without it.

Stop eating for a day, if you can. Most people can. Take a break from feeding your body, which you do every day, many times a day, and feed your soul with books, poetry, trees, open space, silence, and love.

Count your blessings not at night before falling asleep, but before walking into your difficult meetings, when getting in line at the DMV, while swallowing pills and getting shots. Count three things you could have done better at the end of each day, and remember them when you wake up in the morning.

Be careful when you speak to yourself. Words spoken aloud have a mysterious power. They exert their meaning over reality. Even the words you say quietly to yourself, silently in your heart, take root and grow in you and change the shape of your spirit. Telling yourself that you are weak, nervous, or inadequate is a curse you weave over your mind. Do not do that to yourself. Cast a beneficent spell with your words. Speak the truth, and speak the truth of what you want to be true. Call yourself brave, and in doing so, become brave. Call yourself patient, kind, and calm, and then be the goodness that you have spoken. It becomes easier if you say it first. It becomes more solid in your mind, and makes an easier path to follow.

Slow down, and breathe more deeply. Feel your chest expand slowly and broadly. You are suffocating, and you need to fill your lungs and your heart with pure things much more often. You need to breathe intentionally. You think that you breathe without thinking, but often you are forgetting to breathe, and you don't even realize that this is happening. Pay attention to the breath. Yours, yes, but also the world's. When was the last time you closed your eyes to know the wind on your cheeks? If you can't remember, it wasn't recently enough. You aren't paying attention.

Pay attention, bravely. It is hard to pay attention to ugly things, but they often deserve the most attention, so don't look the other way. Suffering is unattractive, which is why there is so much of it. Our souls are drawn to beauty, and so are our paychecks. Have courage when you see something you want to turn away from because it disgusts your sensibilities. This is the moment when your love is worth the most, in the place where others have loved the least.

Treat your body like a garden. Plant good things in it, water it often, and give it some sunshine. Keep it neat and orderly, so that when someone comes to enjoy it, they have no excuse to leave too soon.

Treat your friends like your family, and your family like your friends. Treat strangers like your friends as well, and treat your enemies like your children; teach them how to behave by setting a good example with your attitude and your actions. Don't yell unless it is with joy. Don't run away, only towards. When you feel like escaping, hold still for a moment. When you are about to die, which is always, remember to be grateful for your life but don't cling to it. Keep your affairs in order, and always ask for help when you need it.

Don't spend too much money, but don't spend too little. Give some of it away to help other beings. Work hard, but not too hard. Rest often, but not for too long. In all things, learn moderation.

Whatever you want to be good at, practice. You will become good at what you practice. Everything is practice: your waking, your sleeping, your breathing, your thinking, your eating, your working, and all the other ways you fill your time. Pay attention to what you practice. Don't practice anger, hatred, fear, greed, sloth, abuse, or anything else you don't want to be good at. When you practice something, practice excellence. Give it your best effort.

Don't practice being a victim. Stand up for yourself and what you cherish boldly, with pride and strength, but also with peace and love. Do not give in to evil, and do not believe convenient lies. When you learn something that is true, share it with others. Don't keep the light to yourself.