one day when I get enlightened….

There are a million platitudes. There are millions of facebook quotes on a “NOW” moment. The 30 second sound bite for an evolved spiritual outlook is everywhere. One day, very soonish after I disappeared and stillness remained, I went for dinner with a friend. I had very little to no words, there was no “me” to tell “you” I died. I just was stillness. I just lived and breathed and was the full embodiment of each moment. And so, for some goofy reason, I got to bear witness to her telling me all about what enlightened people are like. It just kinda came up. So I got the story…..”They are very happy all the time, they have no worries, no problems, they are very still, they can sit for hours and never get sore. They are…blah, blah, blah”. The story of the happily-ever-after that we can all achieve if we are good enough, pray enough, cleanse enough, are reborn enough. Its the creepiest and most distorted story. But that’s the story. It doesn’t include any truth, because the full embodiment of NOW can certainly include jealousy, and rage, and sadness, it can also include sore bodies, and uncertain outcomes. Eckhart misses plane connections, Amaji gets food poisoning, Papaji worked 10 hours a day at heavy manual labor. But the reality of enlightenment does not save a place for that dream of peace. Its unimaginable and unpalatable to imagine that peace is right here, in the middle of road rage, or on the dentists chair in pain. That the broken heart can have anything to do with Enlightenment. That the most alive and real moments we have, are all the same. And for those of us who are awake, we get to fully embody it without any filters or distance. And inside that embodiment is the full grace of peace, regardless what it looks like. But who the hell wants to hear that story? And so 100 times a day, the truth of an embodied awakened life is disregarded, for something that is far more pretty, like a Hollywood movie, and posted in a 30 second sound bite.
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