I have just finished a nine part series of Letters to Tom about the meaning of life when I read the following words in the introduction to the First Rule: “ These words are addressed to anyone who is willing to renounce the delusion that the meaning of life can be learned;”
Talk about a wakeup call or lesson in humility. Oh well, meditation is a search for truth and peace and who am I to say what is right for another? The introduction continues: “whoever is ready to take up a greater weapon of fidelity to a way of living that transcends understanding.” Ready?
The First Rule is simply this: live this life and do whatever is done, in a spirit of loving kindness. Abandon attempts to achieve security, they are futile, give up the search for wealth, it is demeaning. Quit the search for salvation, it is selfish. And come to the comfortable rest in the certainty that those who participate in life with an attitude of compassion will receive its full promise.
Wow! There is a whole lot packed into those few words. Where would you focus? What strikes you the most? Tomorrow we will explore a few of the themes, but for today in the quiet of a comfortable place reread the First Rule and let the spirit take you to a single theme.
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