Flowers on the Wall

Often in life we may feel left out or shunned by people for whom we want to be accepted:  the “in crowd,” our boss or people we may aspire to be like.  Those situations leave us feeling inadequate and we really do not know why.  What is it in the human psyche that tells us “I am not good enough to be acceptable”?  No other species on the planet, other than humans, devalue themselves like we do.  

Yes, there is a “pecking order” in chickens and in some animals, the stronger dominate the weak.  But the weak do not think to themselves “I am not worthy of being equal.  I deserve to be beaten and dominated.”

So why does the species with the most develop brain defeat themselves?  The answer is a cloudy connection to their spirit or buddha-nature.  We all have the life-sustaining force within us, without which we would be dead.  Indeed, in some severe circumstances, when that connection is completely blocked, suicide occurs.

How does the connection become blocked?  Sometimes it is through psychosis, sometimes it is environmental, a learned response from our childhood.  Sometimes it is karmic debt we have to work through.  Regardless of the reason, the solution is always the same.  We must revere our pure essence.  For if we recognize the purity of our soul, spirit or buddha-nature, we cannot fail to hold ourselves in high self esteem.  Once we realize that our core is EXACTLY the same as the core of those we aspire to emulate or those we worship, how can we not feel equally reverent for ourselves?

If we revere ourselves, we do not cloud up our minds and bodies with drugs; we do not sell ourselves for any amount; we do not dominate others to attempt to fill a void – there is no void!

We desire nothing of others because we have all we need right here, right now.  We do not need to take anything from another to feel superior because we recognize the absolute equality of all and we are OK with it.

The greatest source of suffering/dukka in the world today is the lack of understanding of who we really are.  We believe that we are who others say we are. “You are too stupid to…”  “You will never amount to anything.”  Why do we believe others instead of listening to our core?  Why are we willing to think the worst about ourselves instead of the best?  We do so because we allow the connection with our core to become clouded.

So wake up!  Embrace your spirit or buddha-nature!  Mirror your physical life after your true inner life, not the ruminations in your head, but the core of your being.  Be as kind to yourself as you are to others.  Demolish the pecking order and bring everyone to the same high level.  Don’t be a flower on the wall, waiting for an invitation to live life to the fullest.  Pop yourself off and join those growing in the garden sangha.  Stand tall, petal to petal with the other beautiful spirits.  The hippies of the 60’s had it right -“Flower Power!”