Attention is Attentive

The Vedanta Society was formed around an exemplar named Ramakrishna in the late 1800’sOnce, one of his disciples was on a ferry and heard people disparaging the saintWhen he got to the ashram, Ramakrishna scolded him“You can listen to people speak falsehood about me and say nothing? What do I mean to you? You must defend the truth with all your strength!”Months later, another devotee came across some folks being pretty unkind about RamakrishnaAnd he let them have it, “How dare you! I know this man as you do not and I will defend his honor with my every breath.”When he got back to the ashram, Ramakrishna scolded him“You don’t need to defend me. Let people think what they will, it’s none of your business”The disciple was confused. In fact, all of the students were confused“But you said…”“Yes, there is not one answer for all beingsI don’t give one direction to each of youBut speak to the development of each individual’s character and spiritual dispositionTom is too timid, he has not found the fire of his devotion and must stoke itSpeaking up for that which he loves will cultivate that important traitJerry’s got no problem with fire, his center needs the cool flow of surrenderThese are not contradictions but prescriptionsThere are as many roads to God as there are human heartsAnd each heart is unique and requires different interventions to realize its true nature”I love this story because it makes perfect sense -Of course you respond in the moment to the needs of the momentTo the individual about the individualBut it also speaks to this human proclivity ofWanting to know the hard and reliable answer so i can play by the rules and do it right.We keep looking for standards, when what we need is sensitivityWe are uncomfortable with what Philip Shepherd calls “the vagaries of the feminine”The feminine will never predict or label you, she meets you exactly as you are in this specific encounterWe want the hard answers of the masculine with clear lines and things to doBut life is only kindof like that - we really need dexterity with bothRemember in The Sound of Music when the children had to be in line all the time with short, choppy answers, all treated the same,The Captain trying to mould them all into rigid, predictable versions of themselvesAnd how they seemed a bit meanAnd then Maria came with the arts and creativity, noticing their unique talents and interests, and they began to thrive individually and as a group?I swoon about MariaThen act like the CaptainI want the quirky, creative, laughter, but I also want it to come in clear, straight linesOh, sweet human heart. Breathe. Relax, and remember.Left foot, right foot. We are built for this.Luckily, we have remindersLuckily, Life invites us again and again to get to know itAnd if we slow down just a pinchWe get our own, sweet, personalized invitationCome, bring your strengths to meet your vulnerabilitiesTo be in real relationship with ourselves, each other, life, and God.photocredit: one of the students at the Sunday School program at the Ramakrishna Monastery in Trabuco Canyon California in March 2019 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com