“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.”
Interesting quote by Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862.
Who writes the rules of life anyway? Who creates the jails?
In The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism, author Gary Gach writes:
“He (Budda) saw clearly now the jail, which we ourselves construct, in which we entrap ourselves, and which we ourselves police. But whatever is constructed will deconstruct. He saw, too, the happiness of being free.
He understood that what we call our life is but a wave, not the ocean. He became one with that ocean, and all the rivers and raindrops flowing into it. He saw the morning star in the sky as if for the first time, his mind as clear as a mirror, and his heart as wide now as the world, almost overflowing with understanding and love. The luminous, joyous starlight matched the smile on his lips. This was it. He had found out. Now he was fully awake.
So happy! He had finally found complete freedom from all unnecessary mortal suffering.”
Speaker Kimberly Herkert offers, “As human beings, we are not capable of seeing the big picture for anyone’s situation. As a result, we are not able to judge what is best for anyone, including ourselves.”
A close friend will immediately correct me every time I comment about a “mistake” that I have made. She teaches me that there are no “mistakes.” Everything is just as it should be, and it serves absolutely no purpose to pass judgment – on others or ourselves.
Cicero, 106 BC-43 BC: “We must not say every mistake is a foolish one.”
Perhaps this message that I wrote to a friend this morning will have meaning for you as well:
“Another thought that comes to me after re-reading your message is this: don’t take yourself too seriously. The whole goal here in life is to be happy.
Yesterday I was in a conversation with a medical professional. He needed to get on to see his next patient. He first paused before turning away, looked me dead in the eye, and said ‘Have fun.’ It felt as if he was being guided to give me that message, particularly since it was so out of the blue from what we had just been talking about. His words simply did not fit the conversation, nor did the tone of his voice, which was not frivolous but very slow, deliberate, and serious. I perceived it was definitely a message to be given to me through him. Maybe now I am supposed to give it to you.
We don’t veer far off our path. I think we live our life purpose just by whatever we do day by day, but we don’t recognize it. We are always looking ‘out there’ for something because we think ‘surely this isn’t it.’ I have come to think that yes, surely it is. Living in the moment, finding peace and happiness, that is the goal. When we do that, everything else unfolds. Our soul will allow it to unfold. So, hey, maybe Bobby McFerrin’s song said it all, ‘Don’t worry. Be happy.’”
What’s the moral of today’s story?
What about this? Don’t worry so much about being too moral. Don’t lock yourself up in your own self-imposed jail. Don’t beat yourself up for making “mistakes.”
Have fun. Be happy.
