I am beginning to teach my daughter what I know. I have been planting seeds for a long time, but it is now time to begin a more formal version. As such, I need to figure out how best to go about it. I am going to try drafts of various lessons here. Let’s call them “Attempted Lessons.” There are so many ways to express the same concepts. It’s funny that I see these lessons in so many places, just misunderstood in many cases, coincidentally parallel in others, perhaps, or maybe I just project upon them. If I had to bet, they are mostly parallel, and therefore correct, really. Anyways, here is an Attempted Lesson, The Two Paths.
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There are two paths.
One path travels away from peace. The other travels towards peace.
Every human travels these paths. They are not direct lines.
The path towards peace requires mindfulness, though some, the lucky few, are subconsciously mindful in this regard.
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To be at peace is to be balanced and to move along the helixes as your DNA intends. Unfortunately, gravity makes this impossible for a land mammal to maintain. Therefore, the path towards peace is a path of constant correction. At best, the corrections can be minimal. Yet, the need for corrections will never cease.
The exemplar of peace is a shark. The shark never stops moving along the helixes intended by it’s DNA. Because of being at peace, it’s “swim” uses the least amount of effort possible, a near perpetual motion machine, in truth. It does not tire because it does not work to swim. It’s movement is as relaxed as a resting heartbeat.
Because it lives in liquid, the effects of gravity are greatly reduced upon the shark. we are not so lucky. We develop kinks. These kinks can be small or substantial. Subjectively, they become imperceptible, small or large. Mindfulness is how these can be identified.
The path toward peace is state of being where kinks are identified and steps are taken to unfold them.
If you are not unfolding your kinks, you are making them stronger, every step taking you further from peace, slowly creating kinks upon kinks, folds upon folds, knots.
The first achievement one can make is to realize the two paths.
