Pure Being

"He was alone in the doorway, digging the street. Bitterness, recriminations, advice, morality, sadness -- everything was behind him, and ahead of him was the ragged and ecstatic beauty of pure being."

-- Jack Kerouac

"... the ragged and ecstatic beauty of pure being." I love that phrase! Some might think of "pure being" as a clear, white void of peace and clarity. Not Kerouac. He knows that pure being is wild and ecstatic and just a tad bit raggedy around the edges. It is not pure in the sense of Ivory soap or the Virgin Mary pure, but pure in the sense of the whole damn enchilada -- inclusive, unadultrated and missing nothing.

But to access pure being, to really "grok" it, you must go beyond all the judgmental and emotional baggage that most of us carry through life. Pure being will let you in because like attracts like. You are in essence pure being yourself, so welcome home!

But all that other crap, all those states of consciousness that attempt to divide the world into categories and dualities and pit them against each other, they have no access to pure being. You can't get to pure being from them, and so they are blissfully left behind.

Nothing is more mundane and secular than a street. But once dualistic consciousness is left behind, it's easy to "dig" a street, to appreciate it for just what it is, and to see the sacredness of it. And the same goes for bowling balls, ketchup, taxi cabs, and yard ornaments. All sacred, all worth digging.

So, just for today dig it all. Put on your best boddhisattva, beat mindset and leave all the negative emotions behind. Dip your toe, your heart, your mind into "the ragged and ecstatic joy of pure being."