I discovered the secret to life this morning, as I often do with an ass full of coffee on Friday mornings. The secret is simple, straightforward and even if I tell you now, which I am about to, the secret will remain a secret, hidden in plain sight. Cue the Thomas gospel, (gnostic edition)… “The Kingdom of God is spread upon the Earth and man does not see it.”
This is not The Secret, because I don’t need to make a movie to get the point across. Ready?
Action is not about outcomes. Effective action is a ritual that we perform to advance an inner aesthetic of freedom. Freedom defined thusly – beyond limits. Fancy words, so let’s simplify. Never do anything to get something done, rather do because the act of doing expresses some essential quality of who we are, of being. A being that is designed by us, chosen deliberately. [This is who I choose to be and my doings are how I reveal myself, practice me. The most delicious version of myself I can imagine at present.]
We have a friend who is about to sell this house. Let’s imagine that action as a ritual of expression.
“Ah, this house. An embodiment of my prior dreams and aspirations, version 1.0 of my self expression. As I roam about the property, inviting the best buyer ever, I feel excited about the future feelings I choose, and in that future this sale is but a prop, a trivial detail, a given. For my future is about the secret delight I allow always, the feeling of being an epic win. I am a human being after all, not a human doing.
I savor all the adventures I had learning what I wanted as I shaped the experience of this house according to my grasp of the cosmos at that time. I might even write down a few recollections to harvest the best of these, to laugh at the pratfalls and bask in the epiphanies.”
The process of preparing this house to be sold is a further expression of who I choose, audaciously, to become. Sure, I am passing the baton off to the most auspicious instance of our collective excellence, that is to say, a “buyer”, but more to the point, I am projecting forward who I choose to be from now on. The zany joy of deploying a windfall of capital is minor, trivial in comparison to my mad schemes of greatness, of blooming worthiness and self responsibility. Do I deserve greatness, worthiness? Who in the world would I point to and say, YOU are unworthy of self discovery, of reconciliation, of rapprochement, of healing and blooming? If there is no one we would deny enlivenment to, why then would we deny ourselves?”
And so on.
Now for myself, Dan Kelly. My life is a bit of a mess at present. That’s a fabulous starting place as I wrap year 63. Once again, I have stepped out onto a tight wire, the details are unimportant, so don’t ask me 😉
Supposedly, there’s a chasm below. There are dire consequences to the slightest misstep, of ordering my next actions in the wrong sequence. What to do?
Nothing.
What to be? That is the question, (nod to the bard). Upgrade the quality of being, of my presence. Forget about outcomes, doings, actions, plans, the next step. Fuck getting to the other side, we are on the wire to dance.
What the F is community? We each bring an ingredient to the soup we are collectively simmering. I guess I’ve got some sagacity to toss in, shamanic, visionary, inspiring, trickster-ish and encouraging, maybe even therapeutic, all at once. Likely, I’m full of shit too – because I am the secret hidden in plain site, as are we all.
See ya later!