Home | Self Improvement | Spirituality
What if we didn't have to worry about heaven or hell! Wow! Then we could play with our Wanting Bugs all day, and all night, too! We could follow every little desire and lead a self-indulgent life completely controlled by our cute Bugs. Let’s eat all we want, make as much money as we can, indulge in every pleasure. And if the money runs out, heck; we'll do whatever we have to in order to get more. Let’s put ourselves in the most funnest situations imaginable and see how absolutely wonderful things will be for us!But you know what - we would probably hate it after a while. Why? Because sometimes we are infected by "Devious" Wanting Bugs. These are the worst kind, They know that everything changes, and knowing this, they keep their slaves (us) on their toes by constantly changing our circumstances. Like a large boat that creates a great wake, these unfortunate slaves (who are cursed with these kinds of Devious Bugs) must never stop moving! If they ever stop moving . . . Splash! The wake of the big waves they are making will drown them! Oh no! Now we're slaves to constant movement!But some people harbor Special Wanting Bugs that "want" nothing to change, and these are bad bugs, too! Poor folks infected by these kinds of Bugs live in their homes hoping that things will remain the same, always! And never make any wakes with speeding boats. But they forgot something! Wakes from other boats! Yep, right there in their quiet harbor - boats like . . . illness, or misfortune, things that come in the night like thieves and change everything! Rats!So Wanting Bugs come in many shapes and sizes. And colors! Red ones, green ones, and every color of the rainbow ones. And certainly there are big and little ones. But the Wanting Bugs that are most interesting are the shape shifters that can alter themselves. Woah. These are cool! They start out as one thing and end up another. Sometimes, after getting what they want, they shape shifty into Worry Bugs, worrying about losing whatever it is that they got. Or, they might turn into Jealous Bugs, or even worse, Manipulative Bugs! They can even become . . . Fearful Bugs!Some Hollywood Wanting Bugs can make us want to be special, perhaps attractive, or famous. Lets pretend that we get lucky and get a facelift and win a singing competition . . . and . . . we're a Rock Star! Whoopeeeeeeeee! Wanting to be famous is one thing, but actually becoming a Rock Star, well, that's really cool! But what if then all we wanted to be by ourselves? Away from the paparazzi and autograph hounds. We might find ourselves longing for the good old days when nobody knew us. Good grief; what happened? What happened was that our dreams became a reality (that's never good!) and the reality turned into a ho-hum, everyday life, as it always seems to. Paradise lost!Wanting Bugs-1, slave-0.Don't we have to scratch our heads and wonder — can Wanting Bugs ever satisfy us — really? For how long? And if they can’t, what can? Ah-hah! The question of the ages! What can cheer up our hum=drum life? And there we stand like a meadow of delicate, spring flowers, our optimistic faces turn toward the sun looking toward the heavens for our salvation from our pesky Wanting Bugs!A solitary butterfly rests on a leaf with wings folded—so motionless. not wanting at all. Is this a symbol of the hushed, peaceful world that lies beyond our noisy, demanding Wanting Bugs? Where might we discover that which we can only long for? Will we ever learn to move like a brook, wandering along ever-changing woodland scenery, flowing relaxed and ever watchful, instead of remaining hungry tigers ready to pounce on anything that moves. Soft petals of wildflowers touching our cheek. A snowflake melting on our tongue. Childhood memories? Are they really so childish? How close to truth? How close to that which lies beyond our Wanting Bugs?But we have to be quick as a rabbit to catch a glimpse of anything beyond our Wanting Bugs. Wanting Bugs are very quick, too! Some Wanting Bugs accidentally point the way toward that which lies beyond themselves, things like wanting to stroll through a quiet forest, or wanting to gaze at magnificent mountains, or wanting to relax in the warm waters of the tranquil ocean. In these places, we can feel nature’s vastness, its majesty, its full emptiness, and feel how it guides us toward that infinite, eternal essence within . . . and here is where our Wanting Bugs are skating on thin ice!Copyright © E. Raymond Rock 2007. All rights reserved
Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center (www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com). His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers (www.AYearToEnlightenment.com).
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
