Still Here by Ram Dass

Author:Ram Dass [Dass, Ram]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781101661604
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2001-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

ECCENTRICITY

At one point in his life, Gandhi was leading a protest march against the tyranny of the British Empire. Thousands of Indian people were involved; they’d left their jobs and come long distances to take part in the demonstration, but at a certain point when violence was about to break out Gandhi ordered his lieutenants to cancel the march and to disperse the crowd. The people protested and begged Gandhi to reconsider, but his reply revealed the humility of a lifetime spent in spiritual practice. “God is absolute truth,” he said. “I am a human; I only understand relative truth. So, my understanding of truth can change from day to day. And my commitment must be to truth rather than to consistency.”

In this same way, confronted by old age’s slings and arrows, we must allow ourselves to be “inconsistent” from a conventional point of view, and adjust our plans and attitudes as our needs change. Since old age is sure to bring us many surprises, we should learn to be more flexible in our behavior, rather than more rigid. As Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” and in fact the freedom to be inconsistent is one of old age’s greatest blessings. We’re free to be “eccentric” and improvise as we go along. We’re free to be a little “dotty,” and free ourselves from conventional behavior. There are two quotes that I always keep close by that reflect the sort of thing I mean. The first was written by Nadine Stair, an eighty-five-year-old woman:

“If I had my life to live over, I’d like to make more mistakes next time. I’d relax. I’d limber up. I’d be sillier than I’ve been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I’d take more chances. I’d climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I’d eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more troubles, but I’d have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I’m one of those people who lived sensibly and sanely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments . . . and if I had it to do over again I’d have more of them. In fact I’d try to have nothing else—just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I’ve been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had it to do again I’d travel lighter than I have. If I had my life to live over, I’d start barefoot earlier in the spring, stay that way later in the fall. I’d go to more dances. I’d ride more merry-go-rounds. I’d pick more daisies. I would live each moment more.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.