In the realm of no liking or disliking, the world is absolutely perfect. We do each single thing with no discrimination. Suppose you’re trying to work, you’re really busy, and the phone rings. We resent the ringing, because we’re trying to work. But the problem isn’t the phone ringing. It’s just ringing. It’s not good or bad.
When we become more able to notice and experience this phone ringing, life gets less rigid. Because life is always changing, we become more able to move with it as opposed to being stuck. Being in harmony means you’re experiencing your self as an integral part of life instead of as someone who is opposing a piece of life. When you experience harmony, you know it.
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From Ordinary Wonder: Zen Life and Practice by Charlotte Joko Beck, edited by Brenda Beck Hess © 2021 by Brenda Hess. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc.