The Way of It

I wondered for years why if TW was so effective nobody was as “advanced” as KT was even though there’s now been people doing TW for decades. One day I understood that we were all chasing the end of the rainbow. That day I “graduated.”  It was a quiet ceremony.  Nobody was informed. I did not receive a special certificate. If I had to put what I learned that day into words it would read like this:

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It doesn’t end.

It’s just not a problem that it doesn’t end.

That’s the freedom.

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The most amazing thing I learned that day was just how much I was like everyone else:

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I

I’m just as fucked up as the man next door,
I just don’t beat myself up about it as much as he does.
That’s the enlightenment I know.
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And sometimes
I notice he beats himself up much less than I do.
Those days he is the enlightened one
and I’m proud to call him
Teacher.
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II

Deep forgiveness for our apparent imperfections.
Deep compassion for our apparent flaws.
A knowing that it’s okay to be just like this.
Even as I try to be a better man with time.

Perfection and Imperfection in perfect harmony.
That is the enlightenment that I know.
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III

Anything that I can compare myself to
Is imagined.
Why would that be a fair standard of comparison?
Better to spend my time appreciating
How much of a good friend
I can be to myself.