Friday, February 14, 2014

Seek and You Shall Find

The Biblical phrase, "Seek and you shall find" usually refers to the Kingdom of God within (Christian phraseology). The practice of mindful awareness (Buddhist phraseology) has a tandem meaning.

If one wants to be struck down on the road to Damascus in a torrent of thunderous glory and light like the apostle Paul, it might take forever/never. Not everyone has the karma to found a world religion like the former convict turned proselytizer.

However, if the goal is to discover that kingdom of god or to achieve enlightenment, the small, ordinary things that cross your path in life can be the trigger. Everything around us is a metaphor, a mandala, just waiting to reveal its joyful secret. Even the most innocuous and mundane act can be a message.

For example. Most of us have electronic gadgets with screens that show every touch of the finger(s). From computers to smartphones to tablets, those greasy bodily oils cloud our illuminated windows to the world. For at least the past twenty years, I have struggled with this conundrum, ruining one screen with a detergent, using water ineffectively, and finally learning that these items require special treatment. And then just living with finger prints and smudges that cloud my vision - a picture of sloth and laziness.

Yesterday as I was perusing every item that Costco has to offer, a certain one crossed my path: Clean Screen, the perfect tool for every electronic gizmo's grunge. In Costcoesque fashion, the packet contained four bottles of this stuff, but nevermind. We have plenty of people in the family with dirty screens who can have their very own spray bottle of Clean Screen.

This morning, with a mere spritz and swipe of the supplied cloth, all of my windows to the world are sparkling like a diamond with almost no effort.

The moral of the story: what we need is hidden in plain view, simple, and no big deal. Solutions abound. And even a trip to Costco can provide a metaphysical lesson if one applies mindful awareness.


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