I have found the key to successful living revolves around the capacity to stay flexible, adapting to new evidence and conditions for sustained joy and happiness. This necessarily involves holding an upright posture, balance, with a posture of equanimity. Things can easily turn into a mess with my reactive mind. This is why it’s so important to look, pause, listen more deeply and aim to move with balance. This perspective necessarily puts us in the position of no harm. When we realize every moment is so precious, that nothing’s to be taken for granted, we wake up to the truth that everything fades away, entropy is real and our real work is to forever dig deeper in gratitude for the opportunity to “just be” here and now, making space to find the gift in the given as hard as it may be. This is where the practices of yoga, akido, tai chi and Qi gong all come in. They aim to help us develop better balance and flexibility in the body, the very foundation, the ground zero…in the body not in the head.

Yes, everything does fade away. Yes, we suffer to the extent we attach to keeping things the same. But this does not contradict stewardship and the deepest of desire to take care of things. We move much more carefully and in gratitude for this opportunity to “just be“. We take better care, beginning with the body. We take better care of the family, community, the nation, the global community and the planet. This is the very foundation in moving slower with greater care forever aiming to ease suffering, to not cause harm, and compassionately meet all we encounter with great care, never too busy. One of my grandchildren, before he was two, said he was too busy to go to the park to eat his ice cream cone. When I asked him what “busy“ meant He said, “busy means I don’t care”. This seems to be a good definition whenever we’re using the busy excuse to say we’re too busy to care.

Whether you call it stoic, equanimity or balance, the work of stability through unstable times comes about through a dedicated practice. The essence of the practice is to come into the moment, to look, to pause, to deeply listen and then move with the intention to not cause harm. We seldom have examples in our leadership which demonstrate this since many reach these positions through their powers of persuasion, reactivity and their greed for attention. Yet, when truly lined up with soul time beyond concepts of who we think we are, there’s a capacity to pause and receive grace… to truly see and to hear deeply with the energy that moves forward to healing, no matter what. These practices require stoic discipline that will be able to stand up to the “excusing mind”, the ego mind, that tries to make exceptions to what we know we must do.

In 1972 I was with a Zen teacher, Katagiri Roshi, who was pushing me to some extreme limits of time. He had shown me how to experience expanded sense of time through present minded breathing. One day I came to him with my excusing mind, asking for relief from our rigid schedule. His firm transmission of ‘no excuse, no complaint’ came through my entire being and it’s guided me for the past fifty years of my “practice”. His words were stern and powerful: “Randy….we all have the same twenty-four hours.” Today I have the deepest gratitude for his wisdom and refusal to let me walk away from the “practice”.

Healing is a process. It’s about coming back to wholeness and it’s all about momentum. Don’t become impatient with the speed of healing. Your impatience and complaint will slow the momentum and could possibly reverse the process or shut it down.

The closed mind is the ignoring mind. It ignores new evidence as it comes in and operates under the false illusion that it has all the information. This is the mind of ignorance and we must be very careful when we’re in the face of it. The ignorant will justify their violence upon others and the planet through a belief system that is closed to new information.

Puppy fresh or ship wreck.

For me, the lighter I am the easier it is to see the light. This refers to the stuff I have or any accumulation I’m holding onto that I really don’t need.

‘Just be it’ is about bearing witness to unity consciousness. It’s about deciding to dis-identify from the ego. Bearing witness is about finding refuge in the moment and in love. It’s about standing up to the illusion of our separateness, of duality. ‘Just being’ is about balance and alignment, standing upright bearing witness in the face of anger, hate, greed, the dogmatic closed mind that would oppress and the violence that would rob opportunity. ‘Just being’ is about bearing witness to our interconnection with all things, to love. ‘Just being’ is free from attachment, complete freedom to explore the present moment and all of its newness. ‘Just be’ is free from judgment and opinion. ‘Just to be’ is bearing witness to unity consciousness.

This is a video insight from a few years back that seems so relevant today as our ground continues to be shaken. A practice of awareness and opening to unified consciousness seems essential to holding balance in such a rapidly accelerated world climate.

It’s all too easy to move from presence to restlessness, from a sense of peace/wholeness to division and negative thoughts and emotions, from a focus on ‘being’ to ‘having’ or ‘doing’. I have found clothing to serve me well in my practice of presence. The phrase “just be it” is my mantra, and much like a mala or rosary helps to keep the divine in our presence, I have found the clothing I wear supports my practice. In 2004 I had shirts printed with the graphics below. They’re Hanes Beefy T, 100% cotton, and not a fashion statement for others, certainly not a slogan to be pushed on others. The message runs deep in my bones and I wear this clothing frequently to deepen my practice, whether awake or asleep. I believe we’re here to do what we can to ease one another’s suffering. With that intention, I’m offering the shirts to anyone who would benefit from wearing the mantra. No doubt, the meaning of these words is in each person. However, when these shirts were printed in Maui, the meaning for ‘peace’ was similar to ‘whole’, ‘healed’ and ‘undivided’. It wasn’t meant as a destination, but an awareness to the illusion of our separateness. The meaning for ‘aloha’ came from Uncle Les and Auntie Pua, to great leaders of Hawaiian tradition who claimed the “ah” was awe and wonder, the “lo” was Divine essence, and “ha” was breath. To just be peace and aloha seemed a great intention. Again, it’s so easy to forget and wearing this has served me well in staying on the path of no harm. These shirts are only in men’s sizing and I have s, m, l, xl and xxl. If you’d find it helpful to your awareness practice simply email me at randyjustbeit@gmail.com and I’ll get one on the way. I also have some Minnesota Paddle and Sail long sleeve black shirts that carry the motto, “Cultivating stability on an unstable platform”. I have since closed this operation, still find the shirt helpful when traversing some turbulent times. Again, they are only available in men’s sizing s, m, l, xl and xxl. Simply email me if you think it would help you suffer less through uncertainty.

A solid practice of presence gives us the strength to hold balance even through challenging conditions. Hope and fear are based outside of the present. When we move to our heads we may lose balance, may be carried away with emotion, and may end up saying or doing things we regret. The practice of presence helps fine tune awareness to the moment, giving us the strength to “show up, to pay better attention, to aim to cause no harm, to be our best, and to hold kindness to ourselves knowing we don’t control the results. When I can let go of these concepts I care for myself. When I can surrender to the sun, the earth, the water… I’m filled with joy. Isn’t that what we’re here for? For sure, we’re here to ease the suffering of others but we can’t do that when we’re in turmoil, reactive and filled with uncontrolled negative emotions. It’s helpful to have a list of those things we can do to feel good. We need reminders to keep us in gratitude, love, joy and peace. I can become carried away with “having“ and “doing“, but “being“ is the strength to me for a life well lived. One reminder that has worked well for me is to wear a piece of clothing that carries the line “just be it“. It’s too easy to forget. It’s too easy for the ego to capture the thoughts of the mind. It’s too easy to lose equanimity, to grow negative emotion, to fill with fear or hope… leading to stress and anxiety. Breathing in “yes“ and breathing out “thank you“ to what comes up. This is a tremendous practice of balance, posture and equanimity

It’s inevitable that we will fall down at some points in our life.  The key is knowing how to fall without it turning into serious injury.  Falls during our later years can be serious, many leading to failure in healing.  Our injuries from falling and our successful falls without injury can be our greatest gift, however.  When I was twelve I severely injured my leg in a farm accident.  The healing took a year and I learned very early how special the body is, how letting go expectation for appreciation healed the body and mind.  Hospitalized for a month, in a wheel chair for three months, and on crutches for nine months, it brought me to an attitude of acceptance and minimal complaint.  During the Cuban missile crisis, experiencing our seventh grade civics teacher directing us to hide under our desks in the event of a nuclear bomb, there was a levity in my attitude that few of my fellow classmates had.  My father and our Norwegian heritage had set a high bar for “no complaint, no complaint”and lower reactivity. There was a realization that worry, panic and complaint just didn’t contribute to the healing.  The Lutheran farming community taught the mantra “suck it up”, face the pain and move on.  My knee surgeon was a brilliant, compassionate man with sparkly blue eyes.  He mentored me through the pain of recovery and he suspected I’d need an artificial knee in ten years.  After four years of successful football and track, after a dedicated weight training program, I discovered yoga. I have had a twenty minute routine for most of my live and for the past ten years have a daily practice of 60-90 minutes….and I still have that wonderful knee almost sixty years later.  It was the continuation of balance practice and learning to fall with grace.  With all of my active lifestyle sports I’ve generally been graced with falls escaping injury.  I’ve come to realize the critical components of “fit” and “awareness practice”.  In yoga, the word “asana” means “balanced posture”.  One spiritual teacher has told me our life’s work is to find and hold our posture through whatever comes up.  It’s very hard work, especially today when so many are trying to pull us off balance.

In the mid-80’s I broke my ankle in the early days of snowboarding before they had supportive snowboard boots.  In the late 90’s I completely snapped my Achilles tendon because my windsurf footstraps didn’t fit properly.  I’ve broken my toes a few times because I missed the footstrap trying to jam my foot in.  Yesterday, on my first turn of the day with my wing board, I fell, landing on the board instead of in the water.  My right leg was bent, ankle rolled, and I landed with my full body weight, breaking my ankle.  I suspect this awkward fall was a result of wearing neoprene boots with a sole that sacrificed the feel of the turn.  The foot pressure on a hydrofoil board is very delicate and for me, doesn’t lend itself to lost board contact.  My inference is that the thicker boots contributed to the awkward fall.  My experience suggests boots with minimal sole thickness and gloves no more than 2mm thick. I had just finished a two hour mountain bike and recognize now that my awareness was not complete.  Had I been fresh I suspect I would have recognized the poor fit.  And yet, how many times we stay in relationships failing to recognize what a poor fit they are.  And then we may fall down.

(This year’s Midwest wing boarding log:  Lake Superior- 13, Forest Lake- 21, White Bear Lake- 6, St. Croix River-25, Clear Lake Iowa- 3, Spirit Lake Iowa- 2, Cannon River- 5, Mille Lacs- 6, Waconia- 3, Calhoun- 5, GreenLake Spicer- 4)

This season I’ve been foiling almost eighty times.  Each time has been between two and five hours.  I’ve fallen thousands of times from my wingboard, into the water, not on the board.  In California winters, I SUP surf almost five times a week.  Yet, one day without proper awareness, I fell on the board and twisted my knee.  

We feel fortunate to escape the Minnesota winters and the dangerous ice.  With Covid, Jane and I stayed in Minnesota for the first winter in fifteen years.  In March she slipped on the ice and damaged a vertebrae that took six weeks to heal. The cold and ice just don’t fit us anymore.

I think we all want healing.  We all do what we can to cultivate a sense of stability on such an unstable platform.  A daily practice of awareness and balance helps us see what’s a good fit and what’s not.  Whether it’s the environment we put ourselves in, the foods we ingest, the media we consume, the friends and family we hang with…..awareness brings to light those elements that foster healing, health and wholeness.  A dedicated awareness practice will help us move more gracefully through our day, and in the event of a fall, will help us maneuver through the event without risking or increasing injury.

Yesterday’s weather conditions were a perfect fit for me.  My unavoidable expectations filled my head.  I was just getting my gybes, toe side riding and tacks down after falling all through the season.  Those expectations were smashed with that first turn and I now had to figure out how to get back to shore with strong winds and cold water.  After a few minutes floating in the water it became clear I couldn’t stand on my one leg.  Kneeling on the board I taxied the one mile back to shore and moved very carefully as I changed clothes, packed my gear and readied for the two hour drive home. The real work was to let go the expectations and sense of disappointment.  It was time to put full awareness to driving and safely getting to the hospital.  It was time to “make space to find the gift in the given”.  When I made it to shore the sun came out and there was a partial rainbow over beautiful Lake Superior.  My car was working.  Healing was already happening.  The process of letting go was underway as I saw leaves tumbling through the fall air.  The leaves remaining on the tree were glorious, knowing full well they, too, will fall to the ground.  It brought me back to The Five Remembrances: 1. It’s of human nature to experience disease and injury, 2. It’s of human nature to age, 3. It’s of human nature to say good-bye to the body, 4. It’s of human nature to say good-bye to everything, everyone one, holding on to nothing, 5. It’s the results of our speech, thoughts, and actions that live on.  This awareness always brings me to pause.  It’s so easy to needlessly cause injury and pain to others.  Some say our purpose here is to do what we can to ease the suffering of others.  That’s much more difficult.  In the meantime, I want to do what I can with intention and attention to not causing harm.  This comes from awareness practices aimed to hold balance, equanimity, and a posture that’s not grown from negative thoughts and emotions.

A little over a decade ago I blew a landing from a kiteboard jump and my two year old grandson screamed out, “DeDa go boom”.  He got so much enjoyment from the big splash that I continued to land butt first instead of softly landing the board.  It wasn’t graceful, but it was done with a sense of stewardship to the relationship I had with him, all the while holding attention to the care of my own body.  Awareness can bring us to that place where we fall without injury, or at least dramatically minimize our risk of serious injury. Stunt men and women are amazing at this.  

My mother had two months with stomach cancer before she gracefully fell.  My father had a dementia that took several years before he fell.  They both came to that place of “no complaint, no complaint” as they moved through the pain and suffering of the impermanent body.  They set the bar high, but showed me the importance of doing what I can to ready for a noble death.  This letting go, falling gracefully, knowing there is a grounding in the groundless, is what spiritual

practice seems to be about.  The theologian Paul Tillich has written, “Love is stronger than death”.  I think healing is stronger than falling and find great joy in surrendering to the healing process, waking up from the illusion of our separateness.

Ring-a-ring-a-rosies

A pocket full of posies

A tissue, a tissue

We all fall down

The falling leaves drift by my window

The falling leaves of red and gold

I see your lips the summer kisses

The sunburned hands I used to hold