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[thehigherthefewer]

It bothers me how many people are morally incurious, and it bothers me even more how many people seem to think that interrogating morality is proof of immorality- because I'm pretty sure that the latter is at least partly driving the former. Asking why an action or institution is wrong does not necessarily mean that someone thinks that that action or institution is right. If you never ask yourself why something is wrong or right, then what is determining your morality? Because it's not you.

[thehigherthefewer]

Staying in the Flow of transitions

We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that’s death. Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air. There’s no room for something to come in and interrupt all that. We are killing the moment by controlling our experience. Doing this is setting ourselves up for failure, because sooner or later, we’re going to have an experience we can’t control: our house is going to burn down, someone we love is going to die, we’re going to find out we have cancer, a brick is going to fall out of the sky and hit us on the head, somebody’s going to spill tomato juice all over our white suit, or we’re going to arrive at our favorite restaurant and discover that no one ordered produce and seven hundred people are coming for lunch.

The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought. That’s what we’re going to discover again and again and again. Nothing is what we thought.

Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it. Nothing ever sums itself up in the way that we like to dream about. The off-center, in-between state is an ideal situation, a situation in which we don’t get caught and we can open our hearts and minds beyond limit. It’s a very tender, nonaggressive, open-ended state of affairs. To stay with that shakiness—to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge—that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

– Pema Chodron

[thehigherthefewer]

"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy."

- Thomas Merton

[thehigherthefewer]

[thehigherthefewer]

Idk for some reason, people really have it in this mindset that they're healed, more authentic, and better than chronic complainers because they're always talking about how they're "unbothered" by everything, don't complain about anything, do not have an issue with literally anybody (except negative people, apparently), don't want to be around people who have issues with other people, just want to go to work and go to bed

But really they're describing depression, repression, apathy, low emotional intelligence, escapism, and/or projection

Like NOTHING bothers you except people that are bothered by things, to the point of shitting on them? Low emotional intelligence and/or apathy and/or projection.

You literally do not care how bad or good someone is because it's just not your place to give a fuck and you see everything related to morals as just unnecessary gossip? Apathy

You just don't want to deal with people ever unless they can be as shallow minded and toxic positive as you and can avoid any difficult conversations that require an understanding of struggling and trauma because it's not "live laugh love"? Low emotional intelligence, apathy, and escapism.

You just literally cannot "sit and stew" in the negativity but you can sit for days, weeks, months, etc on other people being negative because it's for some reason on your mind despite "not being bothered"? Repression and projection.

You literally don't want to acknowledge any problems of the world and just get that bag and go home and vibe? Probably depression, some repression, and more than likely escapism.

It is NOT healthy to be this apathetic toward negativity. And it's also probably the most privileged you can be, is uninterested and uncaring about the world's problems, your friend's problems, evil people, etc, but you can certainly make time to complain about the people who complain about it.

*and if you were authentic, you wouldn't need to push your performance so hard and push everyone else down in the process for living differently than you, unless they're negative to everyone because they're being a dick, like you're being one, then it's not your business*.

[thehigherthefewer]

[thehigherthefewer]

[thehigherthefewer]

“AFTER YOU DIE

Just so you know

after you die

I will not wonder

why you didn’t do

your dishes or

how long it’s been

since you

cleaned your

oven or microwave or

mopped your floors

or why there were

dust bunnies under

the bed and

behind the door

After you’re gone

I will not wonder

how you could

have allowed the

piles of old mail to

accumulate or

why you saved so

many bits and pieces

of this and that or

why you weren’t

more goal-oriented and

well-organized or

why your refrigerator

contained so many

expired condiments

When you are

absent from all your

familiar places

I vow to avoid wondering

why you didn’t

eat less and

exercise more or

why you waited so

long to stop smoking

or drinking or

whatever else was

simultaneously

soothing and

deadly or

why you took

whatever risk may

seem to have hastened

your exit or why

you left so much unsaid

unfinished or

unresolved

I will only wonder

if you knew how much

you mattered to me

just as you are

as you were when we

met in our temporary

human disguises and

laughed in the

dressing room of the

world at how funkily

our skin suits fit

at times

I will wonder and

hope you knew

you were beloved

I will wonder when

we last hugged

and whether you

felt how our

heartbeats

converged

and our bellies

bumped like boats

and then we

both sighed

~ Marva Lee Weigelt

[thehigherthefewer]

"My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed. I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world."

Adrienne Rich

[thehigherthefewer]

[thehigherthefewer]

[thehigherthefewer]

Here are 7 Lessons from the book Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach:

1. Accepting Reality, Not Resignation: Radical Acceptance isn't passive resignation. It's acknowledging reality, with all its joys and sorrows, without judgment. This allows you to respond consciously instead of reacting impulsively.

2. Befriending Your Emotions: We often try to push away negative emotions like sadness or anger. Brach teaches us to befriend these emotions, allowing them to be present without judgment. This creates space for understanding and processing them.

3. The Power of Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the foundation of Radical Acceptance. By paying attention to the present moment without judgment, we become aware of our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. This fosters self-compassion and clarity.

4. The Cycle of Suffering: Brach explains how resistance to what is creates the cycle of suffering. By accepting reality, we break free from this cycle and experience greater inner peace.

5. Decentering from the Self: Our sense of self is often based on our thoughts and emotions, which can be fleeting and unreliable. By decentering, we step back and observe these experiences without getting attached to them.

6. Radical Compassion: Compassion isn't just for others; it's essential for ourselves too. Radical Acceptance encourages extending kindness and understanding towards yourself, even when you struggle.

7. Finding Refuge: Life can be overwhelming. Brach emphasizes finding refuge, which can be a supportive community, spiritual practice, or connection with nature. Having a source of solace helps navigate difficult times.

***

[thehigherthefewer]

Eihei Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen in thirteenth-century Japan, said that being enlightened means realizing that 80 percent of the time you’re deluded.

— Walking the Way by Robert Meikyo Rosenbaum

[thehigherthefewer]

By simply letting yourself be, as you are, you develop genuine sympathy toward yourself.

— Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chögyam Trungpa

[thehigherthefewer]

You've got to figure out how to be happy yourself before you can really help other people be happy. (…) When you're not happy you're obsessed with only one person's plight — your own.

— Lama Marut, A Spiritual Renegade's Guide to the Good Life

[thehigherthefewer]

I have no right to call myself one who knows. I was one who seeks, and I still am, but I no longer seek in the stars or in books; I’m beginning to hear the teachings of my blood pulsing within me. My story isn’t pleasant, it’s not sweet and harmonious like the invented stories; it tastes of folly and bewilderment, of madness and dream, like the life of all people who no longer want to lie to themselves.

~ Hermann Hesse

[thehigherthefewer]