Discover more from Iceburner Thoughts
"Comforts that were rare among our forefathers are now multiplied in factories and handed out wholesale; and indeed, nobody nowadays, so long as he is content to go without air, space, quiet, decency and good manners, need be without anything whatever that he wants; or at least a reasonably cheap imitation of it." - Commonwealth, 1933 - GK Chesterton
Growing up, I wanted stuff, most of the time, stuff I didn't need or wouldn't serve me, but still, I wanted it. When I would voice my desire near my dad, the refrain was, "Remember, the way to get what you want is to want what you got." His puzzles, I would later discover, are really koans. The longer you sit with it, the deeper it goes.
Eventually, I discovered everything I really enjoyed and liked lasted almost no time at all. The days I enjoyed and was mesmerized by what I was doing disappeared in mere minutes while the clock said I was late for supper. The times I did not want to do what I was doing lasted forever, and the clock must have stopped.
Said more clearly...
The "way" to have everything you want is to want everything you already have, without reservation, without resignation, and without any doubt. [Complete love and total gratitude will work too.]
What opens up after that, which is entirely up to you and nobody else, is more of everything you want. EXACTLY!
“In a Hasidic village, so the story goes, Jews were sitting together in a shabby inn one Sabbath evening. They were all local people, with the exception of one person no one knew, a very poor, ragged man who was squatting in a dark corner at the back of the room. All sorts of things were discussed, and then it was suggested that everyone should tell what wish he would make if one were granted him. One man wanted money; another wished for a son-in-law; a third dreamed of a new carpenter’s bench; and so everyone spoke in turn. After they had finished, only the beggar in his dark corner was left. Reluctantly and hesitantly he answered the question. “l wish I were a powerful king reigning over a big country. Then, some night while I was asleep in my palace, an enemy would invade my country, and by dawn his horsemen would penetrate to my castle and meet with no resistance. Roused from my sleep, I wouldn't have time even to dress and I would have to flee in my shirt. Rushing over hill and dale and through forests day and night, I would finally arrive safely right here at the bench in this corner. This is my wish.” The others exchanged uncomprehending glances. “And what good would this wish have done you?” someone asked. “I’d have a shirt,” was the answer.” - Walter Benjamin, Illuminations
However, once I have what I want, I often am left with Now What? You either know where you want to go, and therefore there are a million or more ways to get there, take one. Or you don't know where to go, and you have all day to get there, and anywhere is great. What I hear from most people is the shirt sucks, there is one and only one way to get where they are going, and they have no idea where they are headed. My advice is to stop and wait.
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. - Franz Kafka