ince my experience the other day in traffic, I've been of two minds about work. In one sense I feel the pressure of responsibility and of meeting the expectations and demands of my clients, which represent the expectations and demands of life. And on the other hand I can still remember the freedom of detachment from worldly cares and stress, and yearn to slip back into that state. But I don't know how to reconcile the two. What seems clear is that regardless of how I feel about them, deadlines must still be met. But I'd rather meet them in good cheer, knowing that they are part of my role in life, but not being overtaken by their emotional toll.
The other night I worked late and felt everything was off and that so much pressure was building, I didn't know how to handle it. I got in bed with my favorite book of late, Hazrat Inayat Khan's Mastery, and found this little gem:
Tuning ourselves to the infinite is achieved by the way of silence, by the way of meditation, by the way of thinking of something which is beyond and above all things of this mortal world. By giving some moments of our life to the thought of getting in tune with that which is the source and goal of all of us, realizing that in that source alone is the secret of our happiness and peace.
The nature of being in tune with the infinite is this: comparing our soul to a string of an instrument, it is tied at both ends. One is the infinite, and the other is the finite. When a person is conscious all the time of the finite then he is tuned to the finite, while the one who is conscious of the infinite is tuned to the infinite. Being in tune with the former makes us limited, weak, hopeless, and powerless. But by being in tune with the latter we obtain the power and strength that will pull us through life in whatever adverse conditions may arise.
The work that a Sufi considers to be his sacred task has nothing to do with any particular creed, nor has it to do with any particular religion. It is only this simple thing: to be in rhythm with life's conditions and to be in tune with the infinite. And when one asks how one can arrive at being in accord with life instead of being frightened by life's conditions, the answer is: by meeting it and observing it keenly, and then by trying to harmonize oneself for the time being with that condition, while the next effort is to rise above it if it is an adverse one.
In my life no amount of organizers, calendars, and productivity software can give me the peace that my work is on track. But it's nice to find a real tool to use when I need one.
Wise words indeed by the great Sufi master :) Thank you for the passage.
Ya Haqq!
Posted by: Irving | November 23, 2006 4:41 PM