“See the dark night has come down on us
The world is livin’ in its dream
But now we know that we can wake up from this sleep
And set out on the journey
Find a ship to take us on the way.” (from “The Ark” by Gerry Rafferty)
I was part way through writing a blog on equanimity when the above lyrics burrowed their way into my psyche, distracting me like a toddler tugging on my pant-leg while I’m trying to talk on the phone. Usually to tell me there’s a pot boiling over on the stove! In short, some messages are more important to heed than others. If today’s message is about waking up from the sleep that has been for many, prior to and during 2020, a dark night of the soul, then Gerry Rafferty has got my attention. Rafferty’s lyrics are appealing because I have long-subscribed to the idea of a soul journey, an evolutionary process that takes me from “ignorance-is-bliss” to ever-increasing awareness. From sleep-walking to being conscious of my choices and their consequences. The more I am aware of what makes me tick — how I function and operate — the better chance I have of understanding others, and hence of contributing solutions to the problems I see around me. In my experience, most human beings are essentially the same; we want similar things in life and react in similar ways to similar stimulations. Perhaps that’s a gross generalization but, with myself as a human laboratory, there is always something to learn, if only how I don’t want to be. Or how I might become a better “me” in relation to other people.
Listening to “The Ark” reveals other compelling lyrics: “The time has come to trust that guiding light; and leavin’ all the rest behind…” What might he mean by guiding light? What is one meant to leave behind? For me, this light may simply be a reflection of my own essence, the part of me that remains when I have screened out — left behind — the voices of my ego, my illusions, or other conflicts and confusions. I also believe that this essence is common to everybody, though perhaps more visible in some than in others. And this visibility depends on how much of one’s life is lived from a place of self-awareness and authenticity as compared to a derivative life governed by a herd mentality. The events of 2020 have given me more time, and incentive, to reflect on topics like these, and other weighty issues like mortality, the purpose of my life, what to do with the time I have left, and how to discern what is no longer working.
It occurs to me that Rafferty’s “dream the world is livin’ in” is what’s no longer working. Have we in North America been caught up in a “need and greed” society that is asleep when it comes to the problems that our standard of living is causing, globally and individually? World events: COVID, #BlackLivesMatter, the genocide in Myanmar, and natural events: wildfires, earthquakes and tsunamis have seeded deep anxiety for many. For me, a major priority has been to clarify how I sustain myself in such times of upheaval and uncertainty. Central to that theme has been my belief in a soul journey, and my process has been one of articulating what that means to me, personally. Separating what I know to be true for me, experientially, from certain pieces of acquired knowledge that no longer hold water. One piece of acquired knowledge that very much holds water for me is this quote from Mahatma Gandhi:
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
With those wise words in mind, I’m beginning to think that my soul is the repository of, or the potential to embody, my best qualities. My best thoughts, habits, values and actions. The qualities of compassion, understanding, forgiveness, empathy, patience, tolerance and acceptance, to name a few, arise not out of some pristine void but are called up when, and only when, I am stirred by external events, and particularly as concerns the people and environment around me. Soul doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It needs an interaction with my surroundings, with my sense impressions and the mind that interprets them. When I respond to a perceived need without any expectation of reward, or praise, or indeed regard for the consequences, I am embodying what Gandhi called “soul force” or “truth force”. Without wanting to get into a debate about these ideas, I simply wish to express that my soul journey is one of waking up, of discovering and cultivating the qualities that make myself, and the world I live in, a place of peace and harmony and ease of well-being.
Aum shanti, shanti, shanti.