In Buddhism, everything is seen as impermanent, so grasping and holding onto things, like money is useless, as is craving that which is impermanent. This doesn’t mean you throw your hands up in despair and not do anything, or get rid of everything. It means that we can find the Middle Way. Accept the contradictions in our search to acquire that which is impermanent and not take it too seriously as we go. The Middle Way means to have a direction, but not be attached to it in a linear way. It’s about having loose goals but not being determined to achieve them at all costs. As there is literally no way of knowing what will happen to us each day, we can move with a little more freedom from our projected fears and attachment to our goals, yet still, retain discipline and action. Can you see the challenge of finding that space in between the two extremes?
Kosho Uchiyama Roshi says beautifully, “much too often we go about our lives holding on to some future goal without thinking about our present direction, or about the direction of our lives as a whole. When we stop protecting goals and hopes in the future and refuse to be led around by them, yet work to clarify our lives, that is, the DIRECTION of the present, then we will discover an alive and dynamic practice.”
Written with love,
Jac x