“Studying many scriptures is pointless if one does not practice the wisdom contained within them.”
-The Dhammapada

Today is a beautiful and unexpected day. Well… every day is, really. We’ve just convinced ourselves to live in expectation. It’s more comfortable to do that.

What makes this day particularly unexpected is that there has been a constant snowfall here in Tucson for the last few hours, and it is expected to continue through the day. While I didn’t live in Tucson for 21 years, the last time I recall a snowfall like this in this area was in the mid-eighties.

As I’ve considered the snowfall, and the relationship it has provided to look at how I do and do not live in expectation, I sense the spiritual practice behind this as a metaphor.

What are we expecting at any given moment? Do we expect our good or are we dreading the worst? It seems simple on the surface, and I have had a personal tendency to believe it is simple. It actually is a pretty deep and important question. It is important because for real change to unfold in life I believe we are called upon for constant attention to be paid to our thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. And we may experience that as exhausting. It doesn’t have to be. After all we ARE the infinite energy of the Universe expressed uniquely as individuality. The energy is inexhaustible. So are we when we accept this.

That concept means nothing, though, without embodiment. The intellectual understanding of any spiritual philosophy will effect no lasting change until we embody it. The answers we seek are not in the philosophy itself, they are within ourselves. The philosophy simply provides a language and practices to contextualize this, but the philosophy doesn’t change anything. We have to work it.

At dinner with friends last night (friends who are steeped in this philosophy) we had part of our discussion fall into this very premise. How many people who claim to be steeped in this philosophy are actually experiencing their lives getting better? This is not from a place of judgment, it is a legitimate question. I could look upon others and see the ways I perceive the philosophy is not working… or better phrased, being worked. It is the “curse of ministry” to have such clear vision about others. The real work comes when we accept in our hearts that what we perceive “out there” is a reflection of our own minds and hearts. So if I see the philosophy not being worked by others, the first place to look is in the mirror. Am I working the philosophy?

Ultimately the answer for each of us on how to make our lives better through spirituality is to recognize that the answer is not philosophy… the answer is me, the answer is you, the answer is us.

All of this from considering a snow day.

What a magnificent day!