Responsibility And Realization

I often hear people express a desire for deeper understanding. Why is it that some people seem to have understanding, and some don't seem to have so much? It might seem unfair. But you know, in daily life, we have a kind of proving ground for realization. Or we could say, a proving ground for the responsibility of realization.  

Many people in the world don't have enough food to eat. But in America we are so fortunate that we end up worrying about whether it's organic or not, or whether it is ‘cage free’ or not. But someone in Afghanistan would take it any way they could get it! This means they are grateful for the privilege of food. They are not snooty about it at all.  This is something that is important for us to keep in mind, even though we have plenty.  

In the same way some people have work, and some don't, especially over the past several years. The people that were around during the Depression (like my parents) in this country know that there are times when nobody has work. Or very few people have work. I mean it is not just the money, but work is a very valuable commodity. Work and love: the most wonderful things to have in your life. And yet, at times there are things that are challenging or difficult in our work. At least, as I observe it in my world, there are often people who seem to think that things are just not going the way they would like. Therefore, they are not grateful for the work and end up losing the opportunity. They don't see it as a privilege. They are so used to there being plenty to go around. It has no rare quality for them. And so, they throw it away unthinkingly.  

Clearly, it is the same way with relationships. If you do not appreciate the relationship you have, you soon will lose it. I am not talking about just spousal relationships here, but any kind of relationship.  

There are many small things that go with maintaining your daily life. And there are opportunities for each one of us. And often these opportunities are just out there and someone will pluck one and take it as their own, and own it, and do it. The cubic centimeter of chance, as Carlos Castaneda described it. This is something that is an opportunity for you to be grateful for. But the down side of this situation that we all find ourselves in is when we are not grateful for it, and don't see that it is a privilege, a privilege to have this opportunity. Then it is taken from us, and we don't get more.  

This is true in relationships and it is true in work. And these areas are just proving grounds. This is nothing yet. We are, in this, not even into the meat of it yet. These are just introductory. So, if you cannot handle the heat in regular everyday living, if you cannot be grateful and live your life for the privilege that it is, then you will never be given any deep level of realization, because the responsibility is a thousand-fold.  

You know, it might seem like, "Oh boy I would like to have bliss consciousness, some kind of rapturous realization that I could carry around with me all the time". But it's not like that at all. I mean it is a tremendous responsibility. Every little iota, and speaking from my own experience, every little iota that is given, it is made clear that there is a responsibility that goes with it. And if you don't see it as a privilege in the deepest part of your heart and are grateful for it and honor it, then indeed it will be taken from you, sooner or later. And you certainly won't be given any more. You won't be moving on, at least not until that issue is relived and appreciated for what it was.  

So, if you find yourself in your life, not moving ahead in financial, physical and emotional realization, then of course the same thing has to be true on a deeper, more spiritual level.  

I hope that this doesn't seem vague in some way. Because it seems very clear to me. Of course, we all make mistakes. We all fall down. We all forget things. We all forget to be grateful. It happens to me all the time. But, constantly remembering what I am writing about at this moment, bringing that back to your consciousness over and over again during the day, then it doesn't matter that you make mistakes.  

Then you will recover. Then you don't become bankrupt like the USA will soon be if someone doesn't take some action. If a company or a country becomes bankrupt, it already made the same mistake of forgetting to be grateful over and over, until finally all the money is gone. It doesn't happen with one fell swoop; never from a single event. You fall down once you get up again. I mean the way you progress is by making a mistake and learning from that, so of course that is not the end of things. Making a mistake means that you forgot to see this as a privilege. You forgot that you had been given a gift. Whatever you are engaged in that is a gift to you to be grateful for, and for you to honor, no matter how difficult. And if you do, then you will see things that you could never have seen in any other way. And you cannot tell others about them, actually. Because the only way you can see them is to get through that fire of difficulty to the other side. And it is that struggle that produces the substance, or character trait that we know of as maturity.  

These are just things that have sort of been washing over me lately, and naturally when that happens to me, then you get to hear about them too. I hope that you will think about this. I know if you think about it right now you can see how it played a part in your life this very day, today. Because this, in fact, is all that happens every day.

Curtis Sensei Lecture via Kristopher Kelley