We spend our entire lives worrying about details of life, but fail to enjoy these details. Is it possible to leave the worrying to our Creator, leaving only room for fully being in the moment? Be ‘in’ the details of Life, committing to fully participating in the canvas. If all we have is worry on our plate, we have no room for enjoyment.
Years ago, when Ani Po (Warrior) was going to the YMCA on a regular basis, she would often end her workouts with a nice soak in the whirlpool tub. It was like having dessert after her workouts. Doing this on a regular basis, she became part of a regular morning whirlpool group.
One day she sat quietly listening to, nearly, everyone rant about politics and other negative details that cause division within our society. She kept quiet as not to insert any opinion on this matter as to only cause deeper grief with the negative tone that was already infused into her morning routine, while remembering the Toltec wisdom taught by Don Miguel Ruiz, in The Four Agreements. She remembered to never take anything personally, allowing the words of others to pass freely by while never taking hold of the negative words. When Ani Po was asked by one of the others, why she was so silent she merely asked, “Does any of that really matter?”
You could have heard a pin drop if we were in the basketball courts, but being in the whirlpool tub it was unlikely. In any event, the silence was deafening. Then more negativity surfaced at their lips, “It absolutely does matter. The Republicans this and the Democrats that. The kids are wearing their pants on the ground and they look like a bunch of penguins.”
Ani Po just smiled, “Are you Happy?”
One of the others replies “Yes.”
Ani Po, “Then what does any of that matter if you are happy? Your happiness clearly is not dictated by others or whether a young child is wearing his clothes inappropriately…is it?”
“Well of course not.” Spoke another.
Ani Po, “Then why waste so much time worrying about everyone else but enjoyment you get when you are happy?”
At this time everyone is stirring in the whirlpool and began attacking Ani Po with sarcastic words, “Oh great wise teacher, what should we do?” At which time Ani Po politely got up and began walking to the exit when they heckled once more, “Where are you going Ani Po…did we upset you?”
Smiling even brighter, as a bright idea instantaneously pops into her head, she leaps over the wall of her morning whirlpool mates and into the middle of the hot tub. The cannonball was a rating of “Ten” in a standard size pool, but in a small glass enclosure surrounding the whirlpool it was unmeasurable. The water hit the ceiling, covered the glass walls and for a moment it appeared to be a fish tank. The women, unfortunately lost their protected hairdo and the gents remained in shock at what had just happened.
Leaving her mark that morning, the group never forgot the lesson learned that day…Actions speak louder than words. When the women spoke up about their hair being ruined for the day Ani Po spoke, “In that moment of time, when your life flashed before you and your hair become undone…did you think for a second about all the negative details of life?”
As Gabe Berman reminds us in Live Like a Fruit Fly, the lifespan of a fruit fly and the lack of time they may have to worry about the details of life, their only concern is how they are going to spend their ten short days on this planet and how they will maximize their investment of time. Do we invest our time wisely, aligning ourselves with things or events that allow us to feel good? or do we spend countless hours worrying about details and what messages we subscribe to for the day? Gabe ends each chapter with Live Like a Fruit Fly as a reminder to us all…life is to short to worry about the details.
My dear,
Is it true that your mind is sometimes like a battering Ram
Running all through the city,
Shouting so madly inside and out
About the ten thousand things
That do not matter?
~Hafez
Stepping into the Canvas with intent of living it to the fullest. It is not necessary to be right or wrong, get your way or worry about what everyone else is doing in their days. It is only necessary to enjoy life to the fullest. If we spend our time worrying about the details of life, we have no room for enjoying the details of life. We do not have to speak truth, but let our actions speak for truth. Dare to step in truth…with an occasional cannonball.
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