I'm Still Learning

So I’ve been pondering my desire to get away from it all. My yearning to live on a remote beach has reached a fever pitch. I talk about it to anyone that will listen. My sister-in-law and I send images of Kauai and New Zealand to each other in enthusiastic e-mail messages. Images of pristine beaches and breath-taking ocean views with not a living soul in sight.

Photo: Graeme Huntr

After walking the shore of a local (lake) beach recently, I was overwhelmed by the crowds and the amount of carelessly discarded garbage—plastic bags, water bottles, coffee cup lids. I wondered, would it be different anywhere else?

What I think it boils down to is resistance to the way things are. Many of us find ourselves in an environment of strip malls, dollar stores, Tim Hortons, and Starbucks. It’s a sea of ugliness. Ranting about it and loathing it is futile though and it only brings negativity to our lives and to those we interact with. We are not at peace.

Sometimes things have to get really bad before they get better. Maybe things are exactly as they need to be for us to wake up spiritually. To remember who and what we truly are. To feel without ceasing the life energy that animates and interconnects us with every living thing on this planet and beyond.

Although it’s true that we can’t get rid of our thoughts/feelings, we can observe them with compassion. Our thoughts and feelings are not who we are. They are like any other function our amazing bodies perform. Just as the lungs breathe and the heart beats, the brain thinks and we feel things according to how we interpret those thoughts. Is this reality? Or are we each creating a world in our own minds?

Perhaps for the first time in my life, my desire to see through this collective illusion is stronger than my despair over the destruction of our planet. With a hopeful heart, I seek the Truth of our existence beyond conventional reason.

Tranquil Maria

I’m starting this off with “Tranquility” by the Australian band The Church. Someone once told me that this song reminded him of me. I was flattered because I had been working at opening my heart and bringing peace to all aspects of my life. It was confirmation of my efforts and the lyrics truly resonated with me.

The song, in my mind, is about leaving convention behind and connecting to our true, divine nature. Tranquility is a place where we are free to be ourselves—soaking up all the love and natural beauty that this amazing planet has to offer. For me, this would be on the beach in Maui or some other lightly populated Hawaiian island. But, I suppose Tranquility could be anywhere that is free from the trappings of societal restraints.

“Tranquility” by The Church, Hologram of Baal, 1998.

I heard about Maria, she hated the rat race
And she escaped to a beautiful place
Birds of neo-paradise groove in the trees
The name of her town is Tranquility

Protected by her mantra
Following the formula
In the sun thy will be done

And chasing her rainbows
Talking with her animals
Who say “You see, it’s Tranquility”

Under shifting dimensions horizon returns
Smoke in the distance as Babylon burns
Summer in the river scattering the net
And long to remember that it hasn’t happened yet

Protected by her mantra
Following the orchestra
In the sun thy will be done

Chasing her rainbows
Talking with her animals
Who say “You see, it’s Tranquility”

Protected by her mantra
Following the nebula
In the sun thy will be done

Chasing her rainbows
Talking with her animals
Who say “You see, it’s Tranquility”

Boys I’ve had enough

There’s no more smooth just rough
Don’t go looking for me
Leave me in Tranquility