have cautioned us through the centuries.
Suddenly a whole lot of things are happening around me and I am groping to get my steadiness back. Has this happened to you too? There are times when a lot of things ping at the same time on your consciousness and threaten to rock your boat? It's happening to me now. And, as always, I started getting a grip on myself during my period of meditation.
I have always got a great deal of comfort from American Indian wisdom. Here's what Fools Crow, LAKOTA, says about keeping the inner and outer worlds in balance:
"If we keep everything in balance, we are in harmony with ourselves and are at peace."
American Indian wisdom offers: As within, as without, our present thought determines our future. If we want peace outside ourselves, we must first have peace inside ourselves. It's not what is going on but how we are looking at what is going on.
It is not what IS going on, it is the million thoughts that what is going on raises in our minds that we have to deal with. Buddhists call this the monkey mind. So, first, we have to put all these thoughts that are churning about, to rest - quieten the monkey mind. Learn to look at things as they are without all the colors our thoughts are coloring them. Hazrat Inayat Khan (Sufi wisdom) says: By our thoughts we have prepared for ourselves the happiness or unhappiness we experience.
The Desiderata says: Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
American Indian wisdom offers: We need to keep ourselves in balance. We must be careful to not get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired. We must know the times - time to work, time to rest, time to play, time to sleep, time to pray, time to lighten up, time to laugh, time to eat, time to exercise.
There is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). And as the Desiderata so beautifully puts it -
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
American wisdom offers: There is a saying "The honor of one is the honor of all." This means when we work with all, we need to also work on one. We need to take care of ourselves. You cannot give away what you don't have.
And as the years go on, the Desiderata cautions: Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
It really is all about being in harmony with oneself...