The Bhagavad Gita, one of the ancient texts of yoga, tells us not to do anything for the fruits of our actions alone. When we reach for the end result, we narrow our vision and miss the journey... which is where most of the experience, joy and learning take place. Great suffering ensues when we reach for the fruits of the action alone, or in more common language, subscribe to the belief that the end justifies the means.
I like to think of this concept like growing an apple tree. You like apples so you decide to plant a tree in your backyard. You start with a seed. You plant and water that seed. You tend to the soil; cultivate, trim and care for the sapling as it grows. It takes many years before it is full grown. It doesn't bare fruit right away. It takes time. Many seasons. You care for it and watch it change and grow through it all. Then one day, an apple ripens. Now, if you did all this work to get to this one apple, the end result, and you eat that apple and it has a worm in it, or it's sour, then all the years and work you put into the tree will seem worthless and wasted. On the other extreme, if you eat this apple and it's the best apple you've ever tasted, then in a few minutes when you've eaten it and it's gone, all the years and work you put into the tree will seem worthless and wasted. The apple is only one very small part of the growth of the tree. It's the whole process that's interesting. The apple, then, is a tangible manifestation of all the work that came before. It's not significant on its own; it's the culmination of your work, but each minuscule step along the way was necessary to create that apple. The only way to enjoy the fruits at all, is to enjoy the path itself.
To touch back on the previous blog entry: The Four Steps, this is another reason we don't want to immediately change a misinformed pattern: i.e. turning a foot in, if we notice it turning out. In aiming for the end result of where we'd like to be, we miss the path along the way that builds the nourishment, strength and awareness to bare that result sustainably.
I like to think of this concept like growing an apple tree. You like apples so you decide to plant a tree in your backyard. You start with a seed. You plant and water that seed. You tend to the soil; cultivate, trim and care for the sapling as it grows. It takes many years before it is full grown. It doesn't bare fruit right away. It takes time. Many seasons. You care for it and watch it change and grow through it all. Then one day, an apple ripens. Now, if you did all this work to get to this one apple, the end result, and you eat that apple and it has a worm in it, or it's sour, then all the years and work you put into the tree will seem worthless and wasted. On the other extreme, if you eat this apple and it's the best apple you've ever tasted, then in a few minutes when you've eaten it and it's gone, all the years and work you put into the tree will seem worthless and wasted. The apple is only one very small part of the growth of the tree. It's the whole process that's interesting. The apple, then, is a tangible manifestation of all the work that came before. It's not significant on its own; it's the culmination of your work, but each minuscule step along the way was necessary to create that apple. The only way to enjoy the fruits at all, is to enjoy the path itself.
To touch back on the previous blog entry: The Four Steps, this is another reason we don't want to immediately change a misinformed pattern: i.e. turning a foot in, if we notice it turning out. In aiming for the end result of where we'd like to be, we miss the path along the way that builds the nourishment, strength and awareness to bare that result sustainably.
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