Everything Is As It Should Be Because Everything Is As It Is - Grasshopper

The first part of the quote comes from The Buddha and the second part of the quote came to me via The Grasshopper. Who is The Grasshopper and what does this combination quote mean?

The Grasshopper is the part of us that receives the truth from time to time - from out of the blue. Not some relevant truth but the truth that comes from the one source of everything. I choose to personify and name that truth delivering source as The Grasshopper. Some exceptionally spiritual people, like The Buddha, seemed hard wired to this "out of the blue" network. The rest of us just get a glimpse from time to time.

The first part of the quote, "Everything is as it should be" is a mind calming prescription when faced with a reality that defies rationalization - a reality that may go against our illusion that things should go according to our plan.

The second part of the quote, "Because everything is as it is" explains in no uncertain terms the validity and irrevocable truth of the first part of the quote. Every reality that you face right now can be no different than it is. It is as it is. Reality happens!

You may rationalize that your current reality could have been different if another set of circumstances had occurred before what's right in front of you came to pass, but the unvarnished truth still applies - everything is as it is.

Looking back and evaluating has the benefit of noticing that something didn't work it and gives us the opportunity to make corrections so that it can work the next time.  But no Monday Morning Quarterback can change what has happened.

It sounds so defeatist on first blush, but once the concept of reality is examined and appreciated, we begin the learning process of cooperating with reality or as The Grasshopper calls it, "Dancing with the will of God."

You can't get the sprayed water back into the hose and you cannot recapture all the feathers from an open pillow in a violent wind storm. You can cry over spilt milk but it will do nothing to change the reality.

We spend most of our lives railing against reality which is why we experience what The Buddha aptly described as suffering. The part of us that arm wrestles with reality is the ego - the collection of patterned behaviors we have learned that tells us we are supposed to be in control. Control is an illusion, and illusion causes suffering.

We cannot control the wind but we can search for its advantages. It may blow down our barn but it can also power our house.

I think the real trouble people have with The Buddha's quote is in the interpretation. Based on personal and professional experience, my sense is that most people have the word "should" interchangeable with the word "ought." But on closer inspection, "should" seems to connote a higher power - a law - one that's already in place. "Ought" seems to imply a personal opinion about a set of rules that don't currently exist.

"There ought to be a law about loving your enemies" plays differently on the ears than "You should love your enemies." One seems to come from a higher power. Buddha was referring to the higher power of reality when he said, "Everything is as it should be."

So how do we get from "preachy" to "peachy" when applying this grand teaching?

Notice how often you rail against reality. How much do you complain about what is? Notice that there is no benefit to this carping against creation other than feeding your ego more of the food that fattens the illusion of control. This false impression leads to more suffering and we get caught in a vicious cycle that repeats itself throughout our lives.

Regarding others who deny reality: It's one thing to be a sounding board for them but it's quite another thing to be a sponge. When someone rails against reality, you can be the space or the witness for their complaint but to join them in "oughtville" is a game where everyone loses. You become an enabler of the highest ilk.

People who accept reality have more options available to them to create a new reality. They don't resign themselves; they empower themselves through acceptance. No new option is going to find its way into your mind if you keep it filled to capacity with unactionable complaints. When you accept reality, you clear a space on the dance floor allowing the life beat of The Universe into your life.

Dance everyday!

All the best,
John