This is the introduction to the Confessions of and Idler thread, the credo, if you will. I am in the process of compiling the work into a book and will offer the individual pieces here so you can journey vicariously with me...
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Confessions of an Idler
Inspirations for Oneness
Is it possible that, in addition to the communities we live in, we all possess an internal community composed of mind, body and spirit? And if so, does the balanced integration of our internal community affect our interactions with our external communities? If you believe it does, as I do, then wouldn’t it be good to spend some time nurturing the internal community? There are many ways to do this, I’m sure, but consider doing what I do: become an Idler!
Let me explain:
“Ah, it’s beautiful to waste time,” said Marcello Mastrioanni in the movie ‘Macaroni’, as he sat on a seawall, tossing pebbles into the ocean. I, too, love to ‘waste time’ and idle away hours and days, spending them with carefree abandon, as a Rajah spends rupees.
Passing time timelessly in simple activity, I seek to lose my mind and come to my senses, moving back into my body where I truly live. This is the ark of my spirit, my true nature. Engaging in life’s adventures with single-minded attention and deliberate intent allows the detritus of unproductive mind chatter to fall away. Past and future disappear, revealing an exquisite, eternal present that allows my spirit to flourish.
Skipping stones, counting tree rings, watching clouds, making snow angels, scuffing leaves, applauding sunsets, connecting with the arcs of sparks from babies’ eyes – these are good practices that allow one to fall into, and fully live, each and every moment.
The more I practice, the more I can extend this discipline into the rest of my workaday life, bringing with me the sense of wonder and marvel that arise when one realizes that there are no ordinary moments. Washing dishes, typing manuscripts and painting kitchen walls all become absorbing and joyful when they are experienced one moment at a time.
It’s not always easy to surrender to a life lived in this way; we often feel under siege in our daily lives. Even the task of getting dinner on the table can feel stressful, not to mention how the misery and heartbreak of the world around us – war, poverty and environmental degradation – can overwhelm us.
But consider this:
All the woes of the world are the result of separate-ness. War stems from the division of people by ideologies. Poverty arises from splitting ‘ours’ into ‘mine and theirs’. And environmental degradation results from a disconnection between individuals and the natural world.
These ‘separation anxieties’ are the result of the division of mind, body and spirit in the individual. The resulting internal conflict causes a separation from, or rather a forgetting of, our connection to the people and the world around us, resulting in the external conflicts we witness on a daily basis.
If we can each resolve our inner conflict by uniting mind, body and spirit, we will begin to feel part of the whole again, and the external conflicts will fall away. We will cease to wreak havoc on the environment when we realize that it is our environment. Poverty will disappear when we accept that the giver and the receiver are one and the same. And war will end when we realize that we are fighting ourselves.
Peace is often described as the absence of conflict, however to get there, one must first accept conflict and seek to resolve the underlying differences. There are many paths to peace and resolution, however all paths are from the inside out, from the individual to society. Peace begins with you, and it begins with me.
If these stories can inspire a few moments of inner peace and help you extend this harmony to the people and world around you, then, together, we will be making the world a better place.
I wish for you happy idling…
Kevin Love, c. 2007
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