|
Yesterday we watched as about 640 students received their Juris Doctor degrees from Brooklyn Law School. They walked across the stage of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, friends and relatives stomped and whistled, they shook a few hands and on their way out were handed the paper that qualifies them to take the bar exam. Sacrifices had been made, tremendous effort had been expended and now, suddenly, it was over.
Afterward, many were jolly. Voices were loud. Much hail fellow well met and back slapping. But in the face of at least some of the new graduates once could see shock, and in some, a certain look in the eyes of 'ohmygod whatdoIdo now?'
No matter how often or how well we learn that happiness is a self-referral phenomenon, that nothing outside of ourselves can add to our happiness, that no job, degree, amount of money can add even an ounce to the happiness we experience, still, again and again, we fall into expectation. We have an expectation of salvation, of fundamental change just about to occur as soon as... 'x' occurs. And when the formula in our mind doesn't work, when life is still the same after 'x' has happened, we have a let-down. We have made an appointment with disappointment. We have set ourselves up to be knocked down. And we are knocked down.
Once in a while, it's nice just to know that what we have, where we are, who we are, exactly as we are, is exactly okay. Beyond okay, it's actually brilliant.
This is the Vedic way:
'Our philosophy is: 'Relax and Enjoy.' Our method is to Be. Let all these relative things just play themselves out. Trust that you will not miss your cue. You do not have to think in advance or prepare. You'll think perfectly brilliantly when called upon to think, and you will act perfectly brilliantly when called upon to act. What we have to do is Be perfectly brilliantly when called upon to Be. And that turns out to be about three-quarters of the time. Too much thinking robs the world of our ability just to Be. Stop thinking. Stop suffering.'
 Graduation, Brooklyn Law School, Lincoln Center, New York
All material copyright Jeff Kober
|
