the veil

digital / slightly rendered

'You'll toss around and call my name'

Your Cheatin' Heart, Hank Williams, 1952

After years of tossing around, consumed with questions of where to live, what to pursue, how and where to travel - I was feeling major burnout.  Thinking too much.  Worrying too much.  

Circumstances changed, however, and we decided to buy a house and just live life.  The challenge was, this modest house on a regular street in a regular small city was nothing special.  I have been used to special places and houses for most of my adult life so this was different.  I had mixed feelings about the commitment we had made to this kind of lifestyle.  Surprisingly, shortly after we moved in I had a profound insight.

I have been a student of Alan Watts’ lectures for decades and recently listened to one of his talks on the Bhagavad Gita.  Krishna’s teaching to Arjuna about action without motive is profound.  I let that soak in and went about my daily activities.  I now think this teaching started to turn a key within me.

A few days later, we had a discussion about settling for something less than we had envisioned.  We voiced concerns about this house not being extraordinary.  And I immediately thought, ‘the extraordinary is within the ordinary’.  This is a principle I have held close for many years and I believe it to be good and true.  I went to bed that night content with the groundedness and simplicity of being a householder.  

The next morning it came to me: just being human, having a body, gaining human consciousness and experiencing life - regardless of setting or circumstance - is the extraordinary experience!

When we think in terms of good or bad; when we compare; when we strive; when we adopt others’ expectations of ourselves - we often suffer and lose our way.  This has been my experience.  

I look out the kitchen window as I allow everyday grace to wash over me.  I  see kids going to school and geese overhead.  I pause to notice the countless things that make up my everyday experience and I am grateful for this extraordinary life.

remembering our friend Dr. Abid Mohiuddin, sufi, poet, physician, companion.

"La ilaha illallah"

~

Gary Miller, monoprint artist: “Inspired by Zen teachings and a lifetime of spiritual inquiry, I use sumi-e ink, acrylic paint and gel plate printing techniques to render unique images hoping to inspire the imagination.”
New York, 2024