Kathy and I saw the new Al Gore movie the other night.
It’s a good film, perhaps a bit too much “Al” at times but it focuses on several environmental truths.
One of them is that sea levels are rising . . . every day . . . and have been for awhile.
About this, most people don’t notice or care . . . until there’s a calamity.
Deadly hurricanes, typhoons, floods and tidal surges are calamities that capture everyone’s attention.
And science clearly shows it is the oft-ignored, incremental, day-by-day accumulation of impactful human/global causes and activities that add to their increasingly destructive nature.
***
I believe Dharma practice operates in very much the same manner.
We tend to ignore the ongoing, familiar moments of self-centered intention and action . . . becoming aware of their destructiveness only when something “big” happens . . . e.g., a fierce argument, broken relationship, fit of jealousy, deep spell of loneliness.
We take notice when personal upset arises . . . when we’re swamped by the cumulative results of our ignorance.
Consider:
Dharma awareness, mindfulness and engagement — the motivated “pulse” of healthy, wholesome forward motion — is an at-all-times practice.
Watch the ebb and flow of your own emotional “sea levels” . . .
Do so by paying attention to what is occurring around you, and by virtuously guiding your reactions to it.
Your calamities will become less frequent, less intense, less long-lasting — no longer interesting, they will become tiresome and boring . . . and cease to occur.
***
Dharma is a joyous undertaking of the incremental, moment-by-moment accumulation of virtue, strength, confidence and well-being.
Those with whom you share your life – whether committedly or casually – are waiting for you to share your best self with them.