Open to the whole

This article is inspired by a little story. The story is fictional and was created simply to illustrate a specific scenario.

Let's imagine that we are going out for dinner with our partner. The restaurant is nearly full, and there is a pleasant atmosphere. We sit down and place our orders.

As we are waiting, we experience an overall pleasantness. Nice view, nice music, nice conversation, and overall a nice vibe. Our food comes, and we see a delicious plate of curry and rice in front of us. We cannot wait to dig in!

As we are about to take our first bite, we notice something small and black on our plate. We stop and take a closer look, and see it is a small hair.

This immediately becomes a mood spoiler for us. We call the waiter, we point out the hair, and we are so annoyed with this situation!

Our anger is so unpleasant that it embarrasses our partner and they feel ashamed. The tables around us start to look uncomfortable too, and very quickly, the overall mood changes and it becomes very unpleasant. 

So, instead of seeing and acknowledging the rest of the plate that is full of delicious food, we only choose to acknowledge this one, tiny piece of hair.

Selective truth

This little story is related to how we go about our daily lives. Everything seems to be okay, and then something small comes along and spoils our whole experience! Or rather, we allow something small to spoil our experience.

In general, we refuse to look past this small situation and see the bigger picture. We hold on to this one, isolated event, and we keep carrying it into the next moment. We magnify it and we create a story around it to suit the narrative of a "separate self". It brings unhappiness to ourselves and others.

If we want to live a life in truth, we have to take a firm stand in truth and remain truthful. We cannot expect to be happy if we are only truthful when it suits us. 

As we establish ourselves firmly in our True Nature, we feel an expansion in our awareness. We experience ourSelf as open, free, impersonal consciousness. 

From this open standpoint of consciousness, we are open to the whole. Without aversion, we allow everything to unfold within our awareness.

Small inconvenience

When we have such an outlook on life, we see that these small "annoying" things are quite insignificant.

We do not deny that small things cause an inconvenience now and then, but we remain open to the whole and see that despite this one, small situation, everything around it is well, and we have a lot to be happy and grateful for.

Of course, not every challenge we face is a "small inconvenience". However, if we can receive small inconveniences with open arms and with peace, it will be so much easier for us to welcome bigger challenges and inconveniences in the same way.

In the end, we realize that we can remain at peace and remain content, regardless of what is unfolding for us.

Looking at the flower, we do not only see and acknowledge one of the single leaves. We see and acknowledge the whole. This also allows us to see the beauty of it.

Similar articles on this blog:

Action through inaction - May 2024
Freedom in Being - March 2024
Peaceful Indifference - January 2024