Oh Snap!

I’ve always preferred to read books cover to cover, one at a time (as in finish one before you start another), but in the last few years I’ve become lax on that policy after discovering many times that if I had read the next chapter in a book when I “thought” I should, it would not have had nearly as much meaning as it did when I finally got around to it. (This doesn't apply to fiction of course.)

I think this is just another way the Cosmos communicates with us – or at least with me. Nothing is constant in this world but change, so your collection of knowledge in this moment will be different than what you know even an hour from now. We are ever expanding, just as the Universe is.

The book I picked up for the hundredth time this morning was Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. I’ve been reading this book since before I left NJ in June. I’d really like to finish it, but I’ve not dedicated a lot of time to reading lately (at least not books - the net can keep me busy for hours!), and when I have, other books have been more appealing in the moment.

I’m still not sure this was the right choice for this morning as the first several pages I thumbed through had no impact on me at all and I had to go back and read many paragraphs twice when I realized my mind had wandered even as I continued reading the words. Eventually I reached something that grabbed my attention, and as often happens, I had to write about it before I even finished the chapter. (Another reason it takes me forever to finish a book. Distraction is my middle name.)

It’s towards the end of the book and he’s talking about the Three Modalities of Awakened Doing: Acceptance, Enjoyment, and Enthusiasm. He states:

Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do…

This reminded me of Mary Poppins, of all things. After Mary becomes the nanny for Jane and Michael, she decides they need to clean up the nursery. The children groan at the task ahead, as all children (and many adults I know) do when faced with cleaning up their messes. Mary sings that “In every job that must be done there is an element of fun, find the fun and snap! The job’s a game.”

This is precisely what Tolle is talking about – letting joy flow into what you do, rather than looking for what you do to bring joy to you. Find the fun.

It totally amuses me when I think I'm learning something new as an adult, then I remember the same lesson in a more childlike version from long ago. I guess the universe never gives up on us, and some lessons we need to learn several times before they stick.

Yeah... that's all I've got today. Too much work and not enough ocean makes Trayce a dull writer. :sigh: