Let It Come to You

"You can't go chasin' life all over tarnation. You got to set back and let it come to you. Stay in one place long enough and most everythang'll come by at least once."

-- Rancid Crabtree. From the story Sequences by Patrick McManus

Pursuit gets some high cred in our culture. Pursue your goals, pursue your dreams, chase what matters. But what about the second law of thermodynamics -- for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction? What if the truth is that what you pursue, flees you? Then what good is all this running around chasing your tail business? Rancid thinks it's no good, no good at all.

Imagine sitting back, relaxing, abiding in the present moment. Nowhere to go, nothing to pursue. Whatever the Universe offers, you gladly accept, but you chase after nothing, jones for nada. Whatever comes, you let it come. Whatever goes, you let it go. Detached awareness, equanimity.

That is the spiritual path of Rancid Crabtree, as well as that of many great spiritual traditions, including Taoism and Buddhism. All this hyper- activity that we think leads to accomplishment, and ultimately, hopefully happiness, is seen as mere busyness. Can you be happy right here, right now? That is the only real question worth asking.

Because if you can't, you've taken the Ginzu Knife of desire and sliced the world completely in two. Not only have you created unhappy time (now) versus happy time (somewhere in the future), but also you have cleaved the world into two distinct and separate groups -- those who have what it takes to achieve happiness and those who don't. We are no longer One. We are competitors locked in a dualistic battle for the golden ring of happiness.

No thanks. I think I'll sit this one out. And as I sit here, I'll watch. I'll watch for whatever will "come by at least once." And I'll be happy. Damn right I'll be happy! And grateful. Grateful that I no longer believe in the myth of achieved happiness. Happy to be here at all.