The Trackless Path

If you have the right intent,

The details can be sorted out.

If you just don’t care about what’s right,

Then you will never get the details sorted out.

And as they say, “the devil’s in the details.”

But the opposite is also true:

“Virtue resides in minute particulars.” - William Blake

When I work an ordinary job,

I cannot observe the natural rhythms

That I have been discussing in the last few posts.

And perhaps that is why I struggle with ordinary jobs.

I wonder how many people struggle like me.

Pittas are good at working long hours.

They probably fair best with the 9-5,

Or the 7-7, as the case may be.

But then again, 

Kaphas are steady.

They may fair best with 9-5.

And the ambitious Pittas press on into the night.

10pm - 2am is also Pitta time.

That’s when people say 

That they get their second wind.

We all do our best, I suppose.

Different energies, different styles.

And we’re all needed.  So grateful for that.

They say that each person favors a particular energy.

Some are Vatas, some Kaphas, and some Pittas.

I am definitely a Vata - dreamy, 

Thin, moody, creative.

And I believe that is why 

The afternoons are so vexatious to me

If I am not doing something creative.

Pittas, on the other hand,

Can get a lot done.

They are very productive people.

Kaphas are steady, calm, loving, and large.

Just another way to look at the world, I suppose.

Another way to categorize people

And to know ourselves 

A little better

Perhaps.

Pitta time is from 10am-2pm.

Pitta is the third type of energy 

According to the Ayurvedic tradition.

They say that Pitta time is the most productive time.

It is the time when you are most likely 

To push through on a project.

And I have found that to be true myself.

Ten to two is my get-things-done time.

But I must be careful not to press past two.

Or it will become vexatious to me.

But I think that is because 

I am a Vata person.

Tonight, I will go to bed at 8:00 pm

Which is right in the middle of Kapha Time

According to the Ayurvedics.

Kapha energy is heavy, earthy, homey.  

It helps you relax and get ready for bed.

When you think Kapha, think dim lights, 

Warm cups of tea, good books, and family.

Because I am geared toward the early morning,

This means that my evening starts early.

It starts in the afternoon.

And if I go to bed too late, 

I will resent my wake-up call.

I will lie in bed and wish 

That I was not awake.

Isn’t that strange?

And ungrateful 

I suppose.

I am so glad to be writing in the afternoon.

It feels like writing time.

It feels dreamy.

The Ayurvedic tradition says that 2-6 pm is Vata time.

Vata is the etheric energy,

The creative energy.

The other Vata time is from 2-6 am in the morning.

That’s why people often rise early 

To work on creative pursuits.

It is charged with otherworldly energy.

It is full of unexpected insights, and movement.

It seems like you can always get more done 

In these early hours before the sun comes up,

Not because you’re working harder,

But because it comes easier.

It is early morning dark

And ten runners just ran by my van.

They didn’t notice that I live here.

Did they hear the bark, bark of my puppy 

And wonder where it came from?

If so, I doubt that they cared.

And neither do I. 

Ten runners,

A club of runners.

And I and Joey - just two contemplatives

Musing in the early morning dark

And wondering what to write.

I had a strangely soothing thought today:

What if I were dead?

I suppose that only those 

Who have suffered great loss will understand.

While you’re alive,

There is always the possibility 

That you might do something more

To change the outcome.

But once you’re dead, 

That’s the end of it.

Once you’re dead,

You must accept that what you were is enough.

And there is great comfort in that.

Not only that, 

But once you’re dead,

You lose the ability to change things through your words, your actions.

Prayer and spiritual connection

Becomes your only link

To this world.

So for one

Who hasn’t given up on this world

But who has been estranged from those he loves

It might help to accept the inevitable early.

There is too much stuff

And too little space.

I press out.

I shift.

I purchase a car top carrier.

Aahhhh….better…

What luxury!

What spacious indulgence!

How grateful I am that my life and problems are small!

Rain drips down and I don’t notice.

I am caught by a thought,

And captive to a song.

And the rain drizzles down 

Around and wets my top.

And I don’t care.

Rain on.

Rain on.

I am safe within my thoughts.

You cannot wet me ‘nough

To drown the muse.

So sweet

The perfect thread 

That rolls out line by line

And cares not for the drip, the drop.

I am safe, am safe, within the perfect thought,

The willing captive to a canopy of song.