How am “I” going to get to thisherenow? How can “I” plan to be in thisherenow? What strategies will “I” use to get to thisherenow? The answer has to be, as they say: “You can’t get there from here.” “I” cannot figure out how to get to thisherenow. There is no plan or strategy that will do it. Only presence, authenticity, goodness, the human being can train to live in thisherenow. And one of the best ways I know to do that is through participation. When I think about all the things that I’ve learned to do, that I have gained additional skills in, I see that they are all a result of experience, of direct participation in the area that I wanted to learn about.
I loved practice when I was introduced to it, and it dropped in that, “People need to know about this. It’s good, solid information about how life works, about how to be successful. We need to get on the radio and make this available.” And that’s how Open Air was born. I was participating in practice, and from that came Life’s wisdom and possibility. And I have been rewarded 10,000 times over beyond my contribution.
As I participate in practice, I train to live in thisherenow. When I first encountered practice, that came as a “consumer” of practice, attending retreats and workshops. I received the teachings and used them for “my” benefit, to end “my” suffering. But as we get further down the path, we realize the magnitude of the gift that we have been given. We realize that Life has selected us to do our part in caring for the “jewel” of practice, to carry it forward for the next generation of individuals who are seeking, perhaps without even realizing it, a way out of their own suffering. And so, the importance of “my practice” evolves to include the importance of PRACTICE for all of us now, and those who are to come and join us. We are honored by being called, and we realize that taking responsibility for practice is a joyful, ever rewarding endeavor. To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what practice can do for you. Ask what you can do for practice.” And the beauty of that, of course, is that each of us is the first beneficiary of our devoted practice, of our wholehearted participation, our willingness to train to live in thisherenow.
Gassho,
Michael