Let go of life as preparation for something.
From the Happiness PhD Project with Jackson Kerchis...
While living as a Zen monk I heard the story of a student and his mentor.
The student suggested that they go on a picnic. But the mentor was so busy that days and weeks and months went by.
So the student suggested again – “how about that picnic?”
“Oh yeah, yeah…” said his mentor “we’ll get around to that in a couple weeks…”
A few more months went by.
On this day the two were walking back from town. As they crossed through the center street there was a long line of people dressed in black marching along carrying a coffin behind them. The mentor couldn’t quite see what was going on, so he asked the student.
And he said, “it looks like they’re having a picnic.”
What’s your picnic?
When I sit down to write I always try to think of this question: what’s the most important thing I can share right now with respect to happiness?
Once I decided to ask one of my Zen teachers that question: what’s the most important thing for happiness.
His answer surprised me: Letting go.
In this case, letting go is not just giving up or saying “F it, doesn’t matter.” It’s more like letting go of the orientation towards life as something that is always a doing. It’s so easy to live your life as if it’s preparation for something else. You’re on your way there. You’re preparing for the weekend then preparing for the week. Everything is an activity to complete something.
What if we were – sometimes – able to operate from a mode of not going anywhere or getting something done?
As Suzuki Roshi said, your life is not preparation for something else. This is it. This doesn’t necessarily mean you just sit around all day. It’s more like letting go of completion or achievement in the act of the doing. It’s letting go of the outcome. It’s maybe even not giving a sh*t (but in a Zen enlightened way).
As Matsuo Bashō, in the Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Interior), wrote every day is a journey, and the journey itself home.
your happiness nerd,
Jackson K.
