Go see the rest of the gang at Magpie Tales #80
Red Umbrella, Christopher Shay
Let's Just Be Friends
So I took my time,
then took your red umbrella
though I would prefer
my black one I left
in the back seat of my car.
You were not at home
and I did not leave
a note to say, "looking for you."
It's weird to be here
in this thing we do
now that you have said to me
let's just be friends. What?
Written August 28, 2011 7:41 PM
"Use your mind. Remember. Observe.
You are not different from others.
Most of their experiences are valid for you too.
Think clearly and deeply,
go into the structure of your desires
and their ramifications.
They are a most important part of your mental
and emotional make-up
and powerfully affect your actions.
Remember, you cannot abandon what you do not know.
To go beyond yourself, you must know yourself."
- Nisargadatta Maharaj, I Am That
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (April 17, 1897 – September 8, 1981), born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli, was an Indian spiritual teacher and philosopher of Advaita (Nondualism), and a Guru, belonging to the Inchgiri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya.
One of the 20th century's exponents of the school of Advaita Vedanta philosophy (nondualism), Sri Nisargadatta, with his direct and minimalistic explanation of non-dualism, is considered the most famous teacher of Advaita since Ramana Maharshi.
In 1973, the publication of his most famous and widely translated book, I Am That, an English translation of his talks in Marathi by Maurice Frydman, brought him worldwide recognition and followers.
sometimes it is the definition itself of a relationship that becomes its doom(?)
ReplyDeleteRemember, you cannot abandon what you do not know.
To go beyond yourself, you must know yourself
oh my, even that first sentence. shit. more please.
xo
erin
christopher, i am shocked in a way and yet happy. here i am in this struggle, this learning, apparently being pulled in two different directions, into my ego, for this i came, and away from my ego because of a personal revulsion for ego. and yet Nisargadatta Maharaj
ReplyDeletesuggests it is to dive directly through the eye of the ego to transcend it. this is a terribly exciting prospect for me, what i have been trying to do, perhaps without being fully aware. suddenly, even with only this much information (and reading a few of his affirming quotes) i feel more calm.
well, i'll be dipped...
xo
Wow, Erin, you are such a delight to these old bones. May you effortlessly reach past me into the branches of the tree of life.
ReplyDeleteMy desires have structure? I mostly turn my head, never stare directly at a desire. My cornias will burn. I will be blind. Inspect their structure? How bright those beams? How shadowed those hallways? What then, when the mystery has fallen away to reveal the bones of what I want?
ReplyDeletePhew! Annie, You may be a dangerous woman. You must have had a truly colorful life with desires like those.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, "let's just be friends" calls for a black umbrella definitely, but even a red one provides the shelter that particular demands.
ReplyDeleteLovers walk in the rain, don't they?