“If I do The Work and I’m no longer fearful for the planet’s welfare, why would I get involved in social action? If I felt completely peaceful, why would I bother taking action at all?” My answer is “Because that’s what love does.”
The fear of not being fearful is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people beginning inquiry. They believe that without stress, without anger, they wouldn’t act, they would just sit around with drool running down their chins. Whoever left the impression that peace isn’t active has never known peace the way I know it. I am entirely motivated without anger. The truth sets us free, and freedom acts.
When I take people to the desert, they may see a tin can lying under a cactus and say, “How can anyone do that to this beautiful desert?” But that tin can is the desert. It’s what is. How can it be out of place? The cactus, the snakes, the scorpions, the sand, the can, and us-all of it. That is nature, not a mental image of the desert without the can. Without any stress or judgment, I notice that I just pick up the can. Or I could tell the story that people are polluting the earth, and that there is no end to human selfishness and greed, and then pick up the can with all the sadness and anger I’d be feeling. Either way, when it’s time for the can to move, I notice that I’m there, as nature, picking up the can. Who would I be without my uninvestigated story? Just happily picking up the can. And if someone notices me picking it up, and my action seems right, they may pick up another can. We’re already acting as a community. Beyond anything that we’ve planned. Without a story, without an enemy, action is spontaneous, clear, and infinitely kind. (Loving What is Page 137.)
Adam R Seward
www.adamsewardcounseling.net
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