I belong to a group on Facebook where members share their
dreams. This morning I posted the following on that page:
I slept long and well last night--over eight hours,
unusual for me. I remember only a snatch of the many vivid and busy dreams I
was having: I was in the basement of my house and found that there were foreign
students living in at least two different rooms down there. I went into the
room of one student, who was Chinese. He was very friendly, but not very fluent
in English. We shook hands. He was able to make me understand that he could
hearing me pounding on the keyboard of my computer through the ceiling of his
room at night.
A couple of hours after getting up this morning, I
decided to find a book in my personal library that I had been meaning to reread
for a long time, but had never gotten around to reading--"Jesus and Lao
Tzu, the Parallel Sayings" edited by Martin Aronson. Once I held the book
in my hands, I decided that I would write a blog post on it later today. Having
made that decision, I suddenly connected that inspiration to my dream. Forever
Jung.
The first section of the book is titled “Simplicity,” which
seems to be a thing that I need more of -- in my soul, if not in my life in the
external environment. I have simplified my daily actions to a great degree, but
my inner life has remained overly complicated. I have suffered great losses
over the past two years. Right at the time of each of these crises there is
much pain to be dealt with. But each event also entails many necessary
activities, the very busyness of which is a firewall against the onset of
despair. Only when the last crisis is past and is not immediately followed up
by another can each loss be felt in its fullness, and the real pain begin. As I
write this today, I think I am as close to despair as I have ever been in this
life. Therefore, simplicity:
Jesus:
Martha, Martha, you are busy and bothered about many things;
there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which shall
not be taken from her. ~ Luke 10:41
Lao Tzu:
If you keep your mouth shut
and guard the senses
life is free of toil.
Open your mouth
always be busy and life is beyond hope. ~ Tao Te Ching 52
Jesus:
Unless you change and become like children, you will never
enter the kingdom of heaven. ~ Matthew 18:3
Lao Tzu:
Being the stream of the universe,
ever true and unswerving,
become as a little child once more. ~ Tao Te Ching 28
Jesus:
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God. ~
Matthew 5:8
Lao Tzu:
Reveal your simple self,
embrace your original nature. ~ Tao Te Ching 19
This seems as good a place as any to stop. This, too, could
become too busy. To quench despair, let go of the circumstances causing the
pain--embrace your original nature--become as a little child once more:
trusting.
Jesus:
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ~
Matthew 6:8
Lao Tzu:
The Tao of heaven does not ask,
yet is supplied with all its needs. ~ Tao Te Ching 73
