Groundless.

Nothing is the same as it was before. 

That's difficult to accept.  It leaves us feeling vulnerable, exposed, confused.  It can make us angry, want to fight back and lash out.

We can fight ourselves for years, trying to get back the world we knew and loved.  But we should know that we are the creator of that burden, that our lives our complicated by our own complicated mind. 

It is difficult to accept that things have changed, but once we do it is easier to move forward, to start living in this new world and to start creating the world of tomorrow. 

Curiosity.

Curiosity is ravenous.  It devours anything it needs to keep digging deeper.

Curiosity is unstoppable.  Obstacles and problems only fuel the fire.

Curiosity is propelled.  Stillness can't even hold it back, it may even act as a catalyst. 

The curious student makes their way from studying to contemplating to creating and even testing their theory. 

Give someone a degree and they could have a job for life.  Make them curious, and they could have a passion.

Action.

What is the origin of our universe?  Was it created by a god?  Was there a big bang?  How did it come to be?

The Buddha taught that worlds arise and collapse due to action, or karma.  They arise dependently, not independently.  They arise and fall continuously, without beginning and without end. 

Within each of those worlds, infinite worlds unfold.  There is no limit to space, no center and no border.  Within the macro there is micro, and within the micro you will find macro.  These infinite worlds interact in endless ways such that where one starts and the other ends is indeterminate. 

And yet we feel trapped.  We feel trapped in our situation.  Our world feels stuck and static, like a prison.  What binds us is our habitual tendencies, negative emotions and thought patterns.  We are bound by erroneous views and biased perception.

There are those on the path whose sole motivation is to break free from this cycle.  They want out, they want it to be done. 

Then there are others who see that we can create something else. 

Our actions create the world and influence innumerable worlds.  Our path becomes one in which benefiting others and unlocking their own insight fulfills our path of awakening.  Our particular situation is not seen as a prison, but as an opportunity for awakening.  It is our naturally formed world in which we can enact benefit, in which we have potential to impact others.

And yet, neither here nor there, nor anywhere, have any of these worlds ever truly existed for a moment.    

Why am I so angry?

Is it the person in front of me or the situation?
Is it because of what they are doing or because I don't know how to respond?
Is it too intense?  Am I too tired? 
Is it because I don't know the right answer?
Is it because what I have tried isn't working?

Why am I so angry and what am I to do with this anger?

If you can sit with the intensity of that question and continue to work with it,
the only thing left to do is create.

Try another method.
Push another limit.
Fail another attempt.
Reach a different conclusion.
Dance to a different rhythm.

When the situation is intense, you could simply be angry- internally or externally.
Or you could dance harder. 

Everything is an Offering

What do you offer to the world and others around you?

Love, kindness, generosity.  Joy.  Contentment.  A helping hand and a caring smile.

Or do you offer division, gossip.  Judgement.  A careless hand and a smile of contempt.

Everything you do is an offering.  It has an effect on yourself and others.

You create your mind and your experience of the world around you.  Make it a good one.