The Return to Light

YEARS AGO I took a trip down into the copper mine at Bisbee, Arizona. The blackness of the mine was overpowering and yet, when I turned on the light on my miner's cap, I found that wherever I went in the mine, it was light enough for me to see. I didn't look ahead and say, "But it's dark up there!" I knew that by the time I got there, it would be light.

Fear says, "You'd better watch out! It's dark up ahead!" Up ahead is not my business; this moment is, and it's light enough for me to see right now.

We're like the copper miner carrying his light on his cap, so it makes more sense to work on brightening our light and keeping the batteries strong, than to worry about what's in the dark up ahead. The light only exists "here" - wherever we are - never "there", and it only exists "now", never "then." Faith accepts this; fear refuses to.

If the future was not covered in darkness, then there would be no need for faith. If the whole mine was lit, the miner would have no use for his own light.

The "darkness of the future" - the fact that we have no guarantee of anything at all - is a cause for rejoicing because it means that all possibilities are open to us.

The mystical traditions each in different ways tell us that we have come from light and by devotion, adoration, purification, we are returning to this light. When we shine the light, darkness disappears. We may understand this as a kind of fight between light and darkness, but in reality, it's an embrace.

A Bit Kinder

TOWARD THE END of his life, Aldous Huxley was interviewed and asked, "Dr. Huxley, perhaps more than anyone else in the world, you have studied all the great religious and spiritual traditions; can you summarize for us what you have learned?" Dr. Huxley replied, "I think just to be a bit kinder."

For all our seeking and exploring, this simple, ageless wisdom remains the essence of a successful life on Earth, no matter what convoluted paths we may take to learn it. There's no spiritual practice more profound than being thoughtful and considerate to one's family, neighbors, an unexpected visitor, the person who does the laundry or picks up the garbage, or any other of the usually "invisible" people whose paths we cross in the course of a normal day.

Right where we are, in whatever we're already doing, the opportunity to do a kind deed for someone is almost always present. We need only stay conscious and aware, and then give whatever we can to whoever is right there. It is in a smile, a word of appreciation, or the countless thoughtful acts that we fulfill the lessons of the heart. It is from our intentions that our life grows. It is in opening to one another that our path is made whole.

In our society, and especially in the prison yard from which I am writing this, kindness has taken a bad rap in many ways, being associated with weakness or meekness or labels like "goody-goody". True kindness, however, comes from strength and is full of life.

We can use all our hurts and joys, all the forces that mold us, to soften our hearts and embrace the world with kindness and respect. Our happiness can help to make us kinder because true happiness inspires generosity of spirit. Sadness can help to make us kinder because we can allow our sadness to remind us that every human being suffers sadness. Our strength can enable us to be kind if we understand that kindness doesn't diminish strength; it increases it. Even weakness, shame, and guilt can help us to be kind because, as with sadness, we can embrace those feelings in everyone and have more compassion.

Kindness blooms from a quiet mind, an open heart, an honest nature which has learned and accepted the simple fact that every living creature wants to feel cared about, including ourselves.

There are certainly mysteries to explore and states of ecstasy and enlightenment beyond description, but, as we mature, it becomes clear that those special experiences are only meaningful when they arise from and return to a life of ordinary kindness.

After so many years of going around in circles and forgetting what it was we were after in the first place, we may remember Dr. Huxley's words, "Just to be a bit kinder".

Ah, and then we'll nod our heads, laugh at ourselves, drop a hundred little burdens and complexities, and start all over again in the terrain of our simplest, moment-to-moment behavior. Whether toward ourselves, each other, other species, or the environment, the best we've learned is just to be a bit kinder.

© 2001-06, Tom Brown

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles "Tom" Brown was a successful investor who did very well in real estate, oil, and the stock market. Friends began asking him to invest for them, too. And he did. Things went well, and more people heard about his abilities and wanted to be included in the investment strategies he had devised. All went well until there was a dramatic change in the market. All that went up turned down, and Tom wanted everyone to still have a profit - his big mistake - as he wanted to be well thought of. Tom was accused of defrauding investors. Although it was shown that he had never diverted any money for himself other than a modest commission, through unbelievable mishandling by an incompetent or dishonest attorney, what should have been a one-year sentence became a 17-year sentence. At the time of judgment, Tom was 62 years of age.

The purpose of Tom's blog is not to dwell on the injustice, but rather, to show the incredible unfoldment of consciousness in a man who has taken this sentence and created a workshop of Soul and Spirit out of it. His words are designed to help us see into life and do better with what we've been given. Tom's Beyond the Wall blog is located at www.Beyondthewall.blogs.com.  If you would like to write to Tom, he appreciates correspondence.  He does not have access to a computer but can be reached via Charles "Tom" Brown, # 140237, ASPC - Lewis, Barchey Blue - D2 - E5, P.O.Box 3200, Buckeye, AZ, 85326.