Just passing through
Posted January 20th, 2010 by Daniel Doen Silberberg
We’re all just traveling through this life. We are all going to die, and our lives pass quickly. The warrior-traveler is a realist; he doesn’t get lost in the story of his life. People who don’t realize they’re travelers act as though they will live forever, and this is just unrealistic.
Remember, too, that everyone else is a traveler; they and all the things they care about are just passing through. Everyone is going to die. Remembering this can make us treat others more kindly; when we think someone will be around forever, we don’t give them the same kind of care and respect.
Knowing that you’re just passing through can be scary, but it’s also liberating. When you’re a traveler-warrior, when you understand that you’re just passing through life, not a whole lot matters. And when you really understand this, you can focus on what you really want. Knowing that you’re just passing through, knowing that you’re going to die–what do you want to do with your life?
Tags: death, life, traveler-warrior
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5 Responses to “Just passing through”
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:40 am
Dear Mr. Silberberg,
I am a constant reader of your postings here and I want to tell you that they strike me as being very special. Nothing really is advertised here, nothing is forcefully promoted, I do not learn about the “meaning of life”, there is no sense of disposing wisdom to the public. Theses posts, to me, are something very simple, but reassuring, like the sound of rain on a roof, or a smile shared around a table.
And the less is actually being posted here, all the more the surprise, when it does happen. There are a lot of teachers who try to make themselves available 24/7 with their promotion machines, but i wonder if that really gives the student the space and necessity to actually develop on their own.
So, thanks for showing up, and (although i really like to listen/read) thanks for disappearing as well
I wish you and all of us a great journey
André
January 22nd, 2010 at 3:48 am
Dionne Warwick – Walk on By
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAdcgouhmHY&feature=related
January 27th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Lol. I Love what André said, “thanks for showing up… thanks for disappearing as well”.
Sensei poses a good question! “What do I really want to do with my life”? Hmm. At this point, I think getting rich and retiring early is a good goal and I’m not joking.
For, I’d like to spend my days composing poems, reading, having one on ones with friends and family, exercising and enjoying the moment. I find much pleasure, actually, in doing the simple, mundane tasks of “just passing through” such as grocery shopping, organizing the spice cupboard, cooking a good meal for a friend or paying a special visit to someone in another country or state. And if I never get rich, I will always do all of this anyway and love it.
January 30th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Sensei, you’ve put the facts so simply and elegantly. Although I’m feeling attracted by their simple beauty, I’m wondering why I find it so incredibly hard to acknowledge them. I’ve read this post again and again. I’m starting to see how busy I am with blaming myself for not taking the facts for what they are – just facts. They’re still hard to swallow but a little bit easier to look at.
When we recite the first of the four Bodhisattva vows, I sometimes catch myself thinking „well, I’ll save all beings and maybe I’ll save myself later.“ Your post makes me feel that things don’t work that way. The idea that our very impermanence can make people connect more closely to each other is striking. Hope I’ll be able to give it a try.
January 31st, 2010 at 7:31 am
Of course I know that we all – including myself – will die and will not live forever, but when I look at myself it seems to me that most of the time I do not really believe it. It is scary to truly realize that life is finite and my habitual reaction is not to pay so much attention to this fact. On the other hand I am aware that acting like this is neither realistic nor somehow helpful but is limiting myself. What you say, Sensei, very much encourages me to try to face my fears.
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