In Transition

The Grand Duke of York,
he had ten thousand men.
He marched them to the top of the hill
and he marched them down again.
And when they were up, they were up.
And when they were down, they were down.
And when they were only half-way up
they were neither up nor down.
(Nursery Ryme)

Everyone who goes through the depth of a ‘dark night of the soul’ episode sees a glimmer of light somewhere. Perhaps it is a special friend who reaches out; maybe it is a sacred memory of past times, or maybe it is an inner Voice offering some sanctuary from the pain. Yet the balance of life dictates that it also must be true that each time when we aspire to be our better Self, whenever we reach for the light or embark on a mission towards enlightenment, there is bound to be an inner demon that wants to hold us back, reminding us that we are human after all. We Zen folks don’t have these struggles. We see live as is, without aspirations for the future and without regrets of the past. We are bound to be in balance wherever we are.

A spiritual path is really a transition from an old world to a new, with a few years of disoriented struggle when the old skin hasn’t been left behind in its entirety, while the new skin is not yet complete either. That’s the time of the ‘dark night of the soul’ episode, and that’s the time of struggle between good and evil. Awakening, the search for the light is just like a program kicking in. The Awakening process is just like Charles Dickens’ ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. Eventually though, every spiritual traveler reaches a new state, a new vibration, a new profession perhaps, and a new set of people to hang out with. There is nothing to hope for, nothing to strive for, and even nothing to do. Let life bring you to where you are destined to end up.

Enjoy every day to the best of your abilities. There is beauty in change, and there is beauty in stability. Enjoy the here and now and let God do the rest.