I am frequently amazed at the synchronicity in our world. How what you are thinking and worrying about seems to randomly coincide with a book you pick up or a movie you watch or a person you meet. The interconnectedness of everything is so obvious if we are willing to see it.
I'm currently reading this summer's Mountain Record, a quarterly publication of Dharma Communications (the not-for-profit educational arm of the Mountains and Rivers Order). The main topic throughout the journal is Karma. I have been wrapped up in this funk, this concern about myself, and have not been listening to the world around me. I have been thinking thoughts of anger and jealousy - concerned for my place at work and when I will be recognized, concerned for my personal space and when I will have more of it, concerned for my friendships and the space that has developed in most of them. I've been sitting in these concerns - sulking about them without really considering the why they exist or the how to improve them. I've not been sending good karma into the world.
Sow a thought and reap a deed
Sow a deed and reap a habit
Sow a habit and reap a character
Sow a character and reap a destiny
It is so easy to drop into a selfish line of thought. And when you think selfishly the next step is to act selfishly. And after you act selfishly once, it becomes easier to act selfishly again and again until you have created a habit of selfishness. This habit then becomes who you are - your character. And though your actions do not dictate the path you will take, they do affect the way you think about situations and respond to them. People start to see you as a selfish person and assume that is what you are - and your selfish actions confirm it. This becomes the clearest path - your thoughts and habits support it and the people around you expect it. So why fight?
Thankfully it works both ways - if you change your thinking to compassionate thoughts, your actions will follow. Your compassionate actions will become habitual; they will become a part of your character. And how easy it will then be to respond to situations in a compassionate manner - it will be natural and logical for you. People will expect you to behave compassionately - that will become the path of least resistance. And how much better for the world will be each step you take?
Enso Tile available at http://www.dharma.net/monstore/index.php.
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