Some of nature’s most
powerful “forces” are the most gentle. Consider
that the slow movement of a small stream over
thousands of years can actually carve a river in
the largest of mountains. The waves at the beach
create a lull that can calm the most rigid of
bodies. A bird glides on the currants of
navigation and relaxation. A baby is one of
nature’s most obvious and powerful miracles.
Nature creates a backdrop
for humanity’s strain and struggle mentality.
Nature is ever present as a reminder, yet it is
often ignored as people seek to find the easy
life. True teachers often come in the quietest,
most subtle of voices. The role of the student
is to allow themselves the space to hear and be
receptive to the messages.
As people who want to make
a contribution, we forget that listening is one
of the most profound contributions we can make.
We want to be heard, we want to do, we want to
make our mark. Lifetime after lifetime we return
to push ahead, often accomplishing less than the
smallest of water trickles, carving itself into
the rock face of a mountain. Or at the very
least, struggling a lot more to accomplish the
same thing.
If you could tune into the
consciousness of the small trickle of water on
the rock face of the mountain, you would not be
able to teach it about patience. This is not a
part of its experience. In fact, it does not
contemplate its experience much at all, it just
is. It does not think about happiness, either.
Happiness is based on wanting something that you
are not, or that you think you are not. When
someone or something just is, they are already
full, or perhaps they are already empty. For as
soon as you identify yourself as an “is” then
there is the part of you that is not yet.
Gentleness is the part of
you that is eternal. People go out “into nature”
to connect with the part of them that is
eternal. They do this, forgetting that they are
eternal, they are natural. They are nothing.
Nature is a state of nothingness.
We are taught to fear
nothingness. If it seems like nothing is
happening in our lives, then we feel the need to
create something. Sometimes this is as basic as
turning on the TV when we are bored. Or like
talking when there is a prolonged period of
silence between people. Other times we find we
are addicted to drama, creating things to talk
about when times are slow. We talk about things
being “dead” at work. Death (which we also fear)
is equated with nothing and so we fill every
last space we possibly can, with the best of
intentions.
So sadly and yet so
simply, it is in the state of nothingness that
we find ourselves. Everything which is born on
this planet, whether it is a human being, or an
idea, comes from the Great Void. Everything
comes from nothing. This is an elusive concept
if you try to chase it down, try to figure it
out, search for the meaning of it somewhere.
Nothing cannot be understood from a place of
understanding. It is not something that is
attainable, either. To say it is our essence is
not exactly the case either, it is more the
Source, or birth of Essence. This Source does
not have an exact location, either, it is
everywhere.
You may wonder why we are
sharing this with you. Why we are telling you
about something you cannot obtain and what it
has to do with gentleness. This is not meant to
be an instruction guide to obtaining
nothingness, or total unity with Source. It is
meant to be a reminder, a gentle reminder, on
how to connect with a very different type of
power, the “force” that underlies all of
creation.
Nobody can deny the
“power” of nature. You cannot make a
thunderstorm go away. You cannot stop the Earth
from rotating on her axis. You cannot duplicate
the love a mother and father have for their
child just by pretending to have a child. These
may not all seem gentle in the way you may think
of gentleness. Gentleness is not weakness. It is
intelligence. We do not expect you to read this
and put it into action. We are not telling you
to try and make the thunderstorms stop. Nor are
we telling you that life with its deadlines and
requisite requirements is not a valid way of
being.
However, underneath and
woven through all life and lifestyles, is the
gentleness that comes from nothingness.
Gentleness is everywhere. We are suggesting that
you become more aware of this current. It is in
the awareness of gentleness that you become more
attuned to it. You may find within its
teachings, a new way of being, one that requires
a lot less effort to accomplish more and be more
satisfied. You may find improved relationships,
especially with yourself. You may find better
health, more relaxation and inner peace. Or you
may “find” nothing!
