Living Like a King or Queen
Wisdom 2.0 News ...
Dear Friends,
In my early twenties, I set out to interview various teachers who had an influence on me. One of the people I interviewed was the spiritual teacher, Ram Dass.
When I sat down with him, he told me the story of sitting in New Delhi with his teacher, Neem Karoli Baba (also known as Maharaji), and there was a big festival going on to celebrate the royalty of India.
Hearing the parade go by, Maharaji laughed, and said, “All that for a worldly king!”
In many ways, we have not changed much since that time, except now our “worldly kings” are primarily leaders in business and commerce.
What is their great contribution to the world that gives them such a high place? They are good at making money; they are experts in the domain of acquiring.
Acquiring is no doubt a skill, but if we know little about ourselves, we miss a lot …
You can eat the finest meal at the best restaurant but you do not taste it because you are in such a hurry…
You have the most beautiful ocean view but you can’t enjoy it because you cannot sit still very long …
You can wear the best clothes but you know almost nothing about the person inside the clothes …
You have staff and other people around you, but your anger and frustration pushes people away, so we have no real connections …
This is living like a king or queen? You can acquire, but know so little about yourself.
The most essential skill is something far more challenging and difficult: full presence.
As fun as acquiring can be, discovering what is inherent is much more satisfying.
Today, can you bring presence to the little acts of your life, like walking to your car, or tasting your food, and know that is its own success?
In Wisdom 2.0 News … We are two months away from the Wisdom & AI Summit (with Van Jones, Roshi Joan Halifax) and others.
Our next donation-based month-long is on human connection. Called The Dance of Connection, we will explore deepening the range of relationships in our lives.
Blessings,
SOREN