This is gonna be a contemplater. So bear with me as i meander through the mentalscapes of life, love, work, money and then some. I'm in my mid-late thirties and really sensing the urgency and actually seeing time fly! This is frightening! What it does is make you do things you'd otherwise be procrastinating.
Its not to say you've become uber-efficient! Rather it is knowing in a solid mental way that time really is short and you'd better do whatever you have in mind.
If its making money, do it.
If its to become a tattoo artist, do it.
If it is to become a pilot, do it.
If it is to become a politician, do it.
If it is to become a porn star, do it.
If it is to become the prime minister of some country some day, do it.
The Nike slogan "Just do It" is a practical enlightened approach. So is Adidas and their "Nothing is Impossible." There are innumerable other supposedly commercial slogans that really do tell you, via billboards and hoardings, where you gotta be and what you gotta do at any one given time or moment.
I saw somewhere this play of letters and words: "I-M-POSSIBLE." Ad. slogans the world over is telling you secrets; reminding you of the power of being here and now.
This is not to say you're some walking-talking Buddha. It is becoming a little more aware and positive of the supposedly dirty environment that surrounds us with messages of greed, lust, envy and desire and turning it around.
What you see is exactly what you get. There's not a single perfect individual on this planet. But sides must be chosen. Sitting on the fence is well, sitting on the fence! You're neither here nor there. Hitler was a badass. This badass has probably done more for the concept and practice of "tolerance" than did Mandela or Gandhi.
Mandela and Gandhi were and are living epitomes for higher values. But guys like Pol Pot, Stalin and Hitler, unwittingly, brought to the fore the madness men can cause when they become all too powerful. They remind you of the gentleness and virtues of Gandhi and Mandela.
You've got to wonder how'd they do it? My guess is inner-conviction no matter how delusional. When men are possessed, the magic rubs off. It is an enticing perfume you too'd like to bathe in.
I'm in my prime as far as manhood is concerned. The sense of time and its urgent call to live life like you wanna live it is not a call to arms or alms. It is to appreciate every waking moment and do justice to it. Being in one's prime is not to say you're show-boating. Rather it is knowing that in light of who and what we are, really, your triumphs are no big deal and neither is the problem you feel is engulfing you.
The "Theory of Relativity" was discovered and practiced by Gautama Buddha some 2,000 years ago. Nothing much has changed in the intervening years. Man's dilemma has and is still the same.
"Who Am I and Why Am I Here?"
I've stopped asking that question. I figured its not worth figuring out. Its like what my brother said to me a couple of years ago. We'd gone to see our mother in Paro. We're riding back to Thimphu and we always do a lot of talking; family, life, love, death, religion, faith, belief et al.
We're nearing Thimphu. The talk was about the pros and cons of knowing, following and understanding the Dharma.
We're now on Thimphu's main street. He says, "But remember Jurmi, the search has to end someday. Otherwise you'll be nothing but just another Dharma Bum."
That, i thought, was insightful. Imagine being sixty-four and you've got the same existential trauma!
The biggest trick the devil pulled was making us believe he's around. Now that should get your yak if nothingelse.
