Don’t agitate the water . . . (Click image for video)

How to know if your practice is bearing results? 

Here’s an example.

Writing an email, I noticed that my name had been changed. I didn’t want my name changed, thank you. So I located a place to re-enter it. After a glance at the message that read something like “Seriously?” I blithely clicked “Yes.” A few seconds later, something told me to hit “Cancel!” After I did that, I started work on a file stored on my desktop.

But it was gone.

What happened?

Then reality dawned. I quickly checked my other files. Gone! I looked in Finder. Here too, everything was gone.

Okay, this is when you determine whether your practice is bearing fruit. I didn’t panic. I was, however, extraordinarily focused. I wondered what on earth I had been thinking when I clicked “Yes.” Then I examined my options in order not to similarly zap my other computer, chose one, murmured “Amituofo,” and hit “Okay”. Slowly my folders repopulated my laptop. This is how you too can see if your practice is bearing fruit.

But only if you have a strong heart. And the “cloud.”

The three lifetimes: striving, indulging . . . (Click image for video)

Give fearlessness.

Not fear. 

At some point in our daily routine, we encounter an “it.”

“It” isn’t dangerous. Nor newsworthy or life-changing. Just annoying! An inconsiderate behavior that has been going on for a long time, affecting not only us but others as well.

So, once again, we rehearse how we will lodge a complaint with the appropriate person, confident that she’ll correct the “annoying” person. Perhaps by pointing out how his actions go against the rules. Perhaps with a mild reminder of the need for considerate behavior.

We could complain, but must we? Should we?

We know that we’re supposed to give fearlessness. Not fear.

What if, instead of helping the person conform to the rules, we cause him a serious problem? What if his conditions are so constricting that he has no option but to break that rule knowing he’s not hurting anyone? What if our complaint triggers a life-changing event for him? We need to ease others suffering, not cause it.

We need to relax. And just let go.