Are there signs 2011 will be better than 2010?
“Maybe…”
I saw a Brinks truck parked in front of my favorite local market again today, for the third time this week. Yet I didn't have the compulsion to think it was some sort of sign, the way I've been thinking about how a rat I saw running in front of my car must be a sign. The odds of seeing this truck 3 times in a row compared to the fact that there are countless thousands of rats living in proximity should be compelling enough, right? But it wasn’t, for some reason, and felt like a stretch, a hard sell despite the favorable odds. Which only made me intensely curious about my reluctance to indulge one and not the other.
Particularly because if I did consider the truck “a sign” I would likely see it as a sign of abundance or good fortune or perhaps money flowing into my life; still, I wasn’t convinced. I was instead more inclined to believe that some rat who ran out in front of my car was in some way a mystical and important message for me.
Given that I don’t know how this all works exactly, I am not trained as a medicine healer and am simply a novice at reading my own signs and clearly struggling with that, I paused to consider more deeply why seeing the rat conjured such a reflexive and almost loyal inquiry whereas the Brinks truck I seemed able to easily dismiss. And then took another moment to review the possible meanings for the Rat, I had quick access to such as sensitivity to the environment, ie: knowing when danger is coming as they are historically the first ones to literally abandon ship; adaptability; and self assurance, hoping an answer would appear. But it did not. Any of the vague implications could have applied, yet not one rang truer than any other or “gave me chills” as they say. No more as it turns out when I thought about it than what I might have understood the Brinks truck to mean.
While this example is hardly a scientific hypothesis, it’s my attempt at trying to understand and maybe explain this otherwise psychological maelstrom: What in me, inside any of us, sorts and determines value and meaning? And why, oh why, does it seem so terribly indiscriminate and prejudiced? Why are any of us more inclined to believe certain things a particular way sometimes and not or less at others? This mechanism or way of thinking, and awareness (or lack thereof) and how it affects us has fascinated me most of my life.
Then amidst my tenacious, heady inquiry, one of my favorite Zen stories popped in my head, Thank God, which took me right out of my fear. A story which flawlessly illuminates the beauty, perfection, irony and paradox which both the Rat and the Brinks truck led me too.
Once upon a time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy for his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.
What keeps us balanced in the center of our paradoxical path, no matter how much we sway to one side or the other, wake up or fall asleep, is our daily practice of self-inquiry. Like I always say, Great relationships begin within.
Take your soul for a stroll and join us at www.maryannelive,com as we
bring in the New Year!
I saw a Brinks truck parked in front of my favorite local market again today, for the third time this week. Yet I didn't have the compulsion to think it was some sort of sign, the way I've been thinking about how a rat I saw running in front of my car must be a sign. The odds of seeing this truck 3 times in a row compared to the fact that there are countless thousands of rats living in proximity should be compelling enough, right? But it wasn’t, for some reason, and felt like a stretch, a hard sell despite the favorable odds. Which only made me intensely curious about my reluctance to indulge one and not the other.
Particularly because if I did consider the truck “a sign” I would likely see it as a sign of abundance or good fortune or perhaps money flowing into my life; still, I wasn’t convinced. I was instead more inclined to believe that some rat who ran out in front of my car was in some way a mystical and important message for me.
Given that I don’t know how this all works exactly, I am not trained as a medicine healer and am simply a novice at reading my own signs and clearly struggling with that, I paused to consider more deeply why seeing the rat conjured such a reflexive and almost loyal inquiry whereas the Brinks truck I seemed able to easily dismiss. And then took another moment to review the possible meanings for the Rat, I had quick access to such as sensitivity to the environment, ie: knowing when danger is coming as they are historically the first ones to literally abandon ship; adaptability; and self assurance, hoping an answer would appear. But it did not. Any of the vague implications could have applied, yet not one rang truer than any other or “gave me chills” as they say. No more as it turns out when I thought about it than what I might have understood the Brinks truck to mean.
While this example is hardly a scientific hypothesis, it’s my attempt at trying to understand and maybe explain this otherwise psychological maelstrom: What in me, inside any of us, sorts and determines value and meaning? And why, oh why, does it seem so terribly indiscriminate and prejudiced? Why are any of us more inclined to believe certain things a particular way sometimes and not or less at others? This mechanism or way of thinking, and awareness (or lack thereof) and how it affects us has fascinated me most of my life.
Then amidst my tenacious, heady inquiry, one of my favorite Zen stories popped in my head, Thank God, which took me right out of my fear. A story which flawlessly illuminates the beauty, perfection, irony and paradox which both the Rat and the Brinks truck led me too.
Once upon a time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy for his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.
What keeps us balanced in the center of our paradoxical path, no matter how much we sway to one side or the other, wake up or fall asleep, is our daily practice of self-inquiry. Like I always say, Great relationships begin within.
Take your soul for a stroll and join us at www.maryannelive,com as we
bring in the New Year!
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