Cooked Enough
I like to think of life as a cooking process. We’re all being baked, moving through experiences of suffering and healing. We experience pain and do the work of alleviating it. Some of us come out of the oven too soon, thinking we have all the answers. We attach to belief systems and actually do great harm by trying to force those belief systems on others. Wisdom would have us stay in the oven so that the experiences would give us insights infused deep in the heart and bones. When we are fully cooked we come out with deeper convictions to not cause harm, greater appreciation for the gift of our precious birth and a recognition that each moment is gift, Grace given. With this, being fully cooked, we walk more carefully, with deeper appreciation for the wake of our actions, thought and speech. We first look at the potential for collateral damage from how we behave and what we say. We listen more and speak less. We move with a sense of direction and stability rather than reactive anger and negative emotion.
Some people step out of the oven way too soon. They haven’t had the experiences, the nurturing, the education or the training to move into life with deep wisdom. They step out of the oven thinking they know, that their map is “the” map. They may still be trapped in their grasping or their fear . So much of our leadership today comes from lack of experience, lack of wisdom and the fallacy of happiness from excessive wealth or power.
And then there are those who can’t step out of the oven. They are trapped in their situation, consumed by fear and complaint. With deep awareness practice we can witness how we are being run through the mill, how we can deepen our wisdom and move into elder stage wisdom/compassion.
There’s something about being open with awareness to when it’s time to step out of the oven. We have been cooked fully recognizing that suffering never stops. Van Morrison captures this when he sings his latest song, “I haven’t lost my sense of wonder. Even though things don’t seem to be working out. I haven’t lost my sense of wonder, even when in a world of doubt. I’ve been through the mill, I’ve had my fill. Now peace be still.“
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which you were born. The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives”. Albert Einstein
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