Aspiring to These Things is How We Change the World

Somebody sent me a story. It’s really short. It goes like this:

“Some people asked a Sufi master, ‘Which is better, courage or generosity?’ The Sufi master replied, ‘Those who are generous have no need for courage.'”

I was asked for my take on the story. I think the implication is that true and total generosity requires freedom from material concerns. Freedom from material concerns requires a level of courage that I think few have attained, so much so that those who have it would not consider it courage. For them, it simply is.

I sent an Eckhart Tolle quote to a friend. He didn’t like it. The quote goes like this:

“The only thing that ultimately matters is this: Can I sense my essential Beingness, the I AM, in the background of my life at all times?”

He responded: “I” am not the I AM in the background of my life. That would suggest a very hollow existence. I did not create me, nor am I the one who sets the day the creation that is me ceases.”

I told him that I thought he misunderstood the quote. I know my friend was talking about God. My friend is Christian, so I guess I can see how he interpreted the quote the way he did. However, the greater context of Eckhart’s work is missing. When Eckhart talks about “I” he does not mean the thinking, human part. That’s what he call Ego, and I think that is how my friend interpreted “I” in the quote. When Eckhart speaks of “I”, he means TRUE consciousness, the part of each of us that exists outside of the flesh…and is very much a part of the totality of the Universe. You may call that God…or whatever fits your faith. Eckhart maintains, and I agree, that you cannot fully know God or the Universe as long as you are enamored, enslaved, and distracted by your Ego. “Essential Beingness” is the part of you that is closest and most likely to feel your connection to God.

To those who are courageously generous, it simply is. To those who are courageously selfless, it simply is. To those who are courageously…courageous, it simply is. This is how life is lived for a very special subset of people on this Earth. They pepper our shared human history, and we recognize them when our paths cross theirs. For them, everything we admire so much about them simply IS. They know no other way of being.

Authentic living. Essential Beingness. A sense of “I AM” being connected to the Universe, at the core of every action taken. Aspiring to these things is how we change the world.