There is a field

     December 5, 2018

     Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, 
     there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
     When the soul lies down in that grass,
     the world is too full to talk about. 

                    Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

     But since I’m not currently lying down in that grass, I’m going to talk about it. The field, that is. And the world. 

     Oh, I’ve visited that field many times, in my waking reality and in dreams. But most of the time I’m too busy or distracted to go there. It’s a place of serenity and joy, confidence and hope. A place where I can let go of my opinions, judgments, and resentments. A place where I actually  believe the words of a Qi Gong teacher, “All is well and getting better in all dimensions.”

     Where is this wonderful field? Within the deepest levels of my (and your) psyche. How do we get there? Asking. Prayer. Meditation. Nature walks. Whatever works. Just longing for it seems to help. 

     So if it’s so wonderful, why don’t I go there more often? Why doesn’t everyone go there more often?

     Most people don’t seem to know that it exists. Me, I have no excuse. I know it’s there. I love hanging out there when I take the time to visit. I guess I just need to prioritize a visit over the more mundane aspects of my life, like working for a living. 

     Yesterday I met someone who seems to have the same problem that I have, i.e. busyness. I was driving on the freeway going to work when a guy in a black Jeep SUV starts tailgating me. I looked in the rearview mirror, and to my amusement saw that his large vehicle had, attached to either side of the roof, a pair of reindeer antlers, with a large red ball for a nose attached to his front grille. I was being tailgated by Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer! I guess I didn’t have enough holiday enthusiasm, because he soon gunned his engine and roared past me. But to make the encounter with Mr Christmas Spirit even more surreal, when he raced past me and abruptly cut in front of another car, THAT car had reindeer antlers on the sides of ITS roof! I should have laughed. But instead I was curious: what if anything would the driver of the second reindeer car do once he/she was so rudely cut off? Give Rudolph the yuletide finger? Alas, it was not to be. Maybe the second reindeer car heeded the words of the song about Rudolph: “All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names.”

     I wish I could feel morally superior to Rudolph. But I recognized in him my own qualities of impatience and aggressiveness. He and I suffer from what a Catholic priest once described to me as “hurry sickness.” 

     I don’t know about you, but I want to slow down this holiday season. In fact, I need to slow down almost all the time. Why? Because I want to spend more time where it really matters: in my inner field. And if you want to join me, I’ll meet you there.