Wednesday, June 12, 2024
This morning, when I was winding my clocks, I wondered if one day I’ll see my grandparents again. I own a couple of clocks they gave me. I don’t think I’ll see my grandparents again, no more than I’ll be able to see the meal I prepared yesterday or the concert I performed in my home a few months ago.
Once it’s manifested, it no longer is. Each human is like a beautiful piece of artwork, but once it decays, you have to admire The Artist. A performance, a sunset, or anything artistic shares these traits: it’s expressive, it’s provocative, it’s possibly beautiful, but then it’s over. What remains is what’s important. The personality and the form are gone, but who is behind the artwork?
We’re expressions. We are divine artworks of The Source. The underlying spirit that unifies all beings expresses itself in so many manifestations, we simply forget the patchwork of it all. We are artwork, handiwork, and part of the patchwork of The Whole. Work derives its meaning from the word effort, which comes from the Latin ex- and fortis, meaning ‘out strong.’
The Bhagavad Gita reminds us that “the goal of all work is spiritual wisdom.” And also, “You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work.” You cannot be unified with the sunset you saw last night, no more than you can be unified with your loved ones who once walked the earth as form. But you can be unified with the wholeness of spirit that makes all life possible.
What once was is not becoming. Spiritual wisdom is your becoming, not what was produced yesterday. Don’t be bothered with results or with seeing anybody “again.” Again is over, but if you want a gain, it’s in working for spiritual awareness and unifying yourself with the oneness that can never be fully understood.