Walking in this world as Lady Dreadnought is to be ready for all things, in a state of equanimity. In this state, we are ready to serve and give and enact our purpose without fanfare, deviation or giving into ‘drifting’. This state sees the ‘inner anchor’ of gold, in action and on the move. Without lunging to or from the next desired or feared moment, we are able to come back to the present and experience the sheer perfection of oxygen flowing in to us. Lady Dreadnought breathes…
I’m enjoying Simon Haas’s book on ‘Yoga and the Dark Night of the Soul’. His words on making our work an offering of devotion really touched me. Maybe fearlessness and devotion go hand in hand, the one enabling the other.
Let’s read.
-32- The Tao is forever nameless. Though the Uncarved Block is small, it is not inferior to anything under heaven. If leaders could keep hold of it, the ten thousand things would submit to them freely. Heaven and earth would unite and sweet dew would fall. The people would live in harmony without any law or decree. Only when the Block is carved are there names. As soon as there are names it is time to stop. Knowing when to stop prevents trouble. All under heaven will return to the Tao as brooks and streams flow home to the sea. (The Tao Te Ching tr-McCarroll ed-Knierim ch32)
Ok, so today (Sunday – ‘The Lord’s Day’) I am aware of ‘the ten thousand things’ scattered across the house from a busy week, and ‘the ten thousand’ unanswered messages and emails, and ‘the ten thousand’ undone tasks. What if today I invoked the way of the Uncarved Block to clear the decks of the ten thousand things, to be able to start the week as Lady Dreadnought with nothing to fear and everything in its place? Surely that way, I’d be better placed to make my work an offering of devotion?
“Knowing when to stop prevents trouble.”
Equally knowing when to start prevents trouble, right?
We clear the old so we can enjoy the empty and invite the new.
Ok, yes. I’ve got the 1000 things scattered on my decks, and they clutter my vision.
Can you appreciate that they are all signals of your hard work, which you most certainly offered up as devotion?
Really?
Of course. Do not go thinking you have to do something profoundly different to see your work as an offering of devotion. The only significant difference is to choose to appreciate your work as a manifestation of your devotion.
Devotion to what?
To peace, to unity, to love and to light.
Well, that makes me happy then. What do I need to understand better to choose to appreciate my work as a manifestation of my devotion to P.U.L.L? And how can I use such insights better to cause the ten thousand things to submit freely to my desire to clear the decks?
The better you clear the decks today, the more you will be able to appreciate and enjoy the good work next week.
Ok, that’s a good motivator for me. I need to get clear that this is about living in purpose.
It’s also about understanding that much of your work is yin not yang, and therefore it is not about flag-waving or trophy-wielding. It’s subtle, unspoken, caring and without concrete, tangible outcomes. Therefore, a clear deck helps you sense what’s actually being achieved by our gentle efforts.
The future is yin, right?
Maybe so. It is certainly COLLABORATIVE.
Ooh, I hear the emphasis there. So, it ain’t all about me. It’s about me and the people I collaborate with, and the good stuff we produce together?
Right. No soldier standing alone. No armed guard at the palace entrance. This is about the co-operative stance.
Partnership, co-creation, contribution to the greater whole. And for the part of me that wants to be the hero?
You can tell her she’s been retired for outstanding service.
She’d like that. It’s co-co time now. If I clear the decks today, it’s so I can better collaborate tomorrow.
And the strewn messages and objects are evidence of the collaboration of the past week – to be appreciated and celebrated. Let each one remind you of the joy of the recent collaborations. If you can celebrate collaboration today, you will be actively celebrating the uncarved, nameless block.
‘Only when the Block is carved are there names. As soon as there are names it is time to stop.’ That’s it. It’s not about elevating certain individuals above others, it’s about celebrating the co-working of all dear souls. Celebrate collaboration. I can do that.
Lovely. Let’s meditate.
***20mins med with Insight Timer***
Realisations arising:
- I am not either Protagonist or Villain
- I am a cog in a machine, but specifically…
- I am a good cog in a good machine
- I am surrounded by collaborators who are contributing to the wellbeing of the planet and its people at this time. I really am. How many people do I know personally who I could actually say are detracting from the Good? None!
The Good Cogs in the Good Machine are the fragments of Source returning to itself. Does it release the sense of pressure, urgency and burden to be reminded that what is asked of you is actually much, much less than you think? You are asked to add your drops of goodness, softly, fearlessly and with as much neutral simplicity as you can un-muster.
I am surrounded by good people doing good things. I don’t need to aggrandise myself. Being self-employed, I sometimes think I have to flag-wave, but actually the great advantage of being self-employed is that I get to work with a great deal of wonderful people of my choosing. What a privilege. And I am not the saviour or the villain, the star or the demon. I am just a person playing a part in an unfolding evolution towards a healed, peaceful, united world. Softly.
If you can enjoy being a Good Cog in a Good Machine, life becomes much softer indeed. There are no names for naming, no prizes for winning, no ladders to be climbed. There is a circle of hands-held which always has room for more. And by the way, the Good Cog is not the perfect Cog; it’s the Heart that leans in with curiosity to find a better and better world. That is all.
Make of me a happy good cog in this good world, please. May I realise the wisdom in this vision in which I am neither raised up to the heights or cast down to the depths, in which I am threatened neither with adulation or disrepute. May I settle into a sense of a collaborative world where we all do our bit, softly, gently, faithfully, trustingly, fearlessly, appreciatively. Amen.
I am a Good Cog in a Good Machine: this ‘machine’ is simply the intertwined, interdependent planetary constellation of living souls at this space-time. I am honoured to be a living part of it fleetingly. May I learn how to blend with my fellow souls. Amen.
I am a Good Cog in a Good Machine (celebrating collaboration)