Just Be And You Are

It's not about losing yourself to busyness, it's about awareness that lets you be a part of the world and treat others as equal. We all do that in our own way. Intention is the key to life. When we take care of one, do we lose out on another? I don't have that answer. So should we take care of others? I believe it comes naturally. A woman who trips over her heel and needs a hand to get up, the old man having trouble with his groceries, the little child who needs a boost to jump up on the chair, the colleague who needs extra eyes to proofread a report, the depressed who need an ear, the person seeking attention who needs a smile and nod from a stranger, the acknowledgment we all afford each other as human beings. These things happen as life happens. We can't force ourselves to be healers and helpers, but we can be aware of our surroundings and notice the moments we can contribute. We rarely know we're happy when we are. It might be any of the circumstances above that makes us feel good or it could be a simple dinner conversation with a friend. We'll cherish the moment later in our minds. In hindsight, we'll see it as happy. Instead of seeking that happiness, maybe we need to flow more with the currents around us or create a current of our own. Just like in the ocean, we get pushed one way or another in the wave of life. And there's nothing wrong with that. That can be a community working together. When we react negatively to those currents, we feel the need to create waves of our own. That's up to you or your context. Think about how a surfer catches waves. For every 30 minutes you wade around, you catch a 30 second break and fade into it. It's a beautiful thing. Addictive beyond belief and hence the birth of surf culture. Those 30 minutes mean the world. As with life, you're still floating on a moving current, but you're not fighting it, you're flowing along, feeling it out, timing the waves, getting to know the lay of the land (water). Then you see an opportunity and launch! You talk about the rush after the fact. If it weren't for those 30 minutes, you'd never catch the break. The best surfers adapt the quickest, they develop a sixth sense for the waves, the current, and the flow. Take your own 30 minutes. Or an hour. Or a year. Fighting against your surroundings will only push you back further and hurt those around you. Remember that just being isn't just about doing whatever you want, it's about knowing and respecting the moment you're in, from one to the next. You can't understand yourself - you can't catch that break - unless you feel out the current life is taking you on.