Wind Waves

David K. Reynolds, Ph.D.

These works are protected by the Creative Commons license.

Foreword

Someday you may wake up to find yourself puzzled about how you came to be where you are.
It's not as though you guided yourself to your current situation.
It's more like life just happened to you.
You can trace a path backward, into the past, to be sure.
You didn't simply make that path; you mostly merely followed it.
The twists and turns in that path appeared to you.
All the while you were planning your future, the path kept revising it.
Numberless occurrences, tiny and major, all decisive, prodded you along.
Now you are here.
The specifics of this here/now was unforeseen when you were twenty or thirty or forty.
Giving up now would be no more than another bend in the path laid out for you.
Determining to blaze your own trail from now on would again be misunderstanding another curve in the path ahead.
Your task is to walk your path alertly, purposefully, and well whatever comes, wherever it leads.

Scrub your mind with useful information.
Scour your mind with facts.
Unkempt minds generate misery.
Unnecessary suffering is wasteful of self and others.

Caring for others and caring for self are not different.
The real distinction is between caring for self and caring for self.

Giving while expecting return is not giving.
Giving to an inferior is not giving.
Giving from excess is not giving.
We are all mothers and children.

Embrace life's ugliness and unfairness, too.
Like it or not, hold it close.
Jabbing at Reality is tiring.
You can't get there from here.
You are here.

We can't use up what we never had.
We can't reset time's clock.
Standing up or sitting down
Round and round we go.

Ferris wheel or water wheel
Impressive or drenched.
We cling to borrowed support
And fantasize the wheel is ours
Believing we could walk away.

Reality is sometimes calm, sometimes agitated.
The mind reflects such change.
Accept the whole gamut
Or you'll only add more layers of change.
Blown about, move steadily forward.
Excitement and sorrow don't get shopping done.
Whoever offers endless peace and calm
Offers word sauce on an empty plate.

We can't understand everything.
Death, for example escapes us.
Though we don't escape death.
Analysis of analysis may even confuse us.
Immerse yourself even in the unknowable.

I offer not pegs for your academic hats.
My mind puzzles me, too.
What my mind holds, holds my mind.
Inseparable.
The sound of a car door slamming shut.

The wind rattles metal shutters.
Drying clothes flutter and spin.
Step outside and greet the breeze.
You can't know it from within your room
Writing at your desk,
Throwing your mind out the closed window,
Crippled by imagination.

There's safety in slumbers.
But danger, too.
And boredom.
Measure your risks, of course.
Then leap out.
Landings are vantage points
For the next ascents.

You park your car
In order to get out.
If you plan to sit in it all day
You might as well drive.
Get in, drive, park, get out.
Not only cars.

Unrealistic goals leave you faltering and frustrated.
No one's mind stays calm and happy.
No mind should do so.
Be angry but don't kick the dog.
Be sad but don't slit your wrist.
Be disappointed but don't criticize your spouse.
Give your mind free reign
And your actions tight reign.
Doing so smooths some of the mind's wrinkles.

Beware misplaced reverence.
Beware misdirected desires.
Beware quicksand hopes.
Beware intergalactic truth talk
(So far above as to be untestable.)
Beware spiritual boundaries.
Beware obfuscating illumination.
Switch on your judgment meter.
It works.

Thinking is just fine.
Evaluating is what minds do.
Discovering is worth effort.
Turning off your mind
With drugs, beliefs, rituals, media, sex, meditation, service, romance, patriotism, education, food, whatever,
Is not the answer to any worthwhile question.
Your mind has a mind of its own.
Let it function as designed.
And do what is right.

To believe you can do anything you desire is foolish.
Impossibilities abound.
Possibilities masquerading as impossibilities abound as well.
Beware those who promise to make the impossible possible.
They seek your money, your time, your attention.
While impossibilities remain impossible.

Emotional triggers vary
Yet we all have emotions and triggers.
No one walks about disarmed.
Let neurons fire away
But aim to cause no harm.
Improve behavioral marksmanship with attention.
You are the target.

Divinity is beyond us.
The best we can hope for
Are moments of surpassing effort,
Instants of selflessness,
Touches of excellence,
Immersion in worthy purpose.
And then we don't notice.
But afterward...

Worship whatever you like
But keep your distance,
Your skepticism,
Your grounding in Reality.
Don't let anyone capture,
Subvert, and reroute your worship.
Simply worship.

We are all representatives of the Divine,
No one more than another.
Beware those who work to look wise or holy.
They are representatives of the stage.
Sometimes their lines may be inspired.
The show must go on.

Others need more awareness.
Others need more gratitude.
Others need to notice how hard I work in their behalf.
Others need to recognize my abilities.
Others need to take less notice of my minor faults.
Others need to love me more.
Upgrading others would fix my life.
Or so we may believe
While reclining on their shoulders.

My life is on loan.
But the payments are not made by this writing.
And I lack sufficient virtue to even nibble at the debt.
I live and I'll die a debtor.
The question is “A debtor to what? To whom?”
To ansser would not repay what I owe.
So, while offering thanks to the unknown
I live.

You don't need special powers
To smile a greeting
Or to offer an apology
Or to close a door gently.
Use what you have.
You don't need merit or heaven or extra credit or praise either.
Use what you have well.
You don't need me to remind you of these truths.
You what you know to do well.

You may
Thumbtack your world with “ordinary” tacks,
Paste up your daily life with “ordinary” paste,
Pour your feelings into “ordinary” pails.
But you would miss the miracles of the moments
Until you see that “ordinary” and “miracle” tacks
Have the same brand name.

It's okay to worry, to dread, to regret.
It's fine to fear, to prefer, to despair.
Just notice and move on.
Learn and move on.
Embrace and move on.
Be a tide, not a whirlpool.

Achievements are less earned than withdrawn
From Reality's account.
Before long achievements belong to another you,
The you in the past.
Wallpaper.
Just keep doing what you can,
What Reality offers you to do.

Winning brings confidence.
Losing brings humility.
Struggling brings strength.
Giving up brings weakness.
Finding betters ways to struggle is not giving up.
Struggle while accepting.
Struggle while resting, planning, evaluating, supporting, retreating, advancing, dying.
Dying people aren't dead.

Wisdom is inherently useful.
Wisdom is inherently understandable.
Clever words without usefulness and clear meaning are not wisdom.
They are baited hooks.
Test the usefulness of words with your mind and your body.
Wisdom will be sensible and practical.
Beware those who troll for believers.

Perspectives change.
Challenges may become impassable.
Barriers may become gateways.
Love may become indifference.
Disdain may become respect.
Exhaustion may become joy.
Events are defined by perspectives.
Watch your eyes.

Your life is your practice.
To practice in order to practice is a waste of practice.
Setting aside a time to practice life is meaningless.
Times out are for sports, not for lives.
Practice life now.
Just exactly enough.

You may believe that there is more to life than life.
But you can't get there from here.
So you might as well live this life now.
Whatever your hopes and dreams
Life is as it is.
Polish dreams into life through action.

I never met a mind that wasn't miserable
Some of the time.
Misery can be minimized by giving your mind (and body) away
In service.
Working at being useful to someone else
Is a misery firewall.
Misery needs self-focus.
Firewalls sometimes melt.
Self-interest is very hot.

Frozen, trying to figure all the angles.
Unmoving, trying to find the one safe course.
Stuck, not knowing the outcome.
Afraid to make the first move.
Uncertain future,
Unclear variables,
Unwilling, uncommitted, undecided.
Just give up!
Step into life,
Looking for answers.

We are going to die.
You may believe something comes next.
You cannot know.
You do know how you are living.
While regretting and despairing and fearing and resenting
Live life well.
While enjoying and admiring and appreciating and rejoicing
Live life well.
You are well-positioned for your life.

Only a fool always faces life with calmness and joy.
Fortunately, no one actually does so.
Life wrings from us a variety of emotions.
They are all natural and acceptable.
Savor them all.
And do good.
Don't waste your precious time trying to fix feelings.

Peaceful feelings during an earthquake or snake attack
Are unnatural.
Scalding water on the skin
Should not generate loving joy.
Be realistic.
Don't kiss word hookers.

Knowledge is fine.
Doubts are fine.
Pain is informative.
Bad behavior is already punishment.
Good behavior is already rewarded.
Imperfection is quite common.
Health comes and goes.
So what's new?
Look and see.

Liking and disliking
Are both in here and out there.
No problem with that.
Be careful not to let either one
Limit what you do.
Purposes trump preferences.

Think carefully!
Constant peace and happiness
Are not unattainable ideals.
They are unrealistic idiocy.
Medicated into bliss or calm unconcern
Is a kind of living death.
You NEED moments of depression and anxiety and misery
To be alive and fully human.
You NEED to learn to be hopeless without giving up,
To be frightened and persist with purpose,
To despair and endure until darkness passes,
To display fruitful behavior while uncomfortable.
Think clearly!
Keep going and suffering always fades.
You cannot know this truth
Without holding on.
Escape in any form robs you of this treasure.
Lift yourself into freedom to feel anything.

Who let you in here?
Traffic lights don't change with you in mind.
Earthquakes, lotteries, viruses, stock markets,
Rain, blackouts, computer crashes, and sunny days
Are not aimed at you.
Similarly, moods, cravings exhaustion, second winds, irritation and insight
Happen to you like the weather.
You can take no credit for moments of enlightenment.
Amidst all these happenings
Do what needs doing.
You aren't the center of the universe,
But you are the center of your actions.

Sitcky notes and vaporware.
Talk about doing is easy.
Doing the doing may be hard.
Doing done may be easy.
But done is the mother of doing.

Don't lean on me for support.
I aim to get out of your way.
You don't need me or these words.
You have exactly enough ability
To do what you need to do.
Because abilities and purposes
Shape each other.
Thanks to whatever creates them both.
So get in touch with goals
And actualize them.
You'll never know if you got there
If you don't know where you are going.

New breaths, new thoughts, new me.
Discoveries await us.
We must be alert to find them.
Boredom is a matter of inattention.
Don't let boredom keep you busy.
Discoveries will direct you.
What needs doing next?

When is doing not doing?
When is not doing doing?
Something moves your hands.
Yes, your brain, but something else, too.
Keeping your hands still may be doing.
There is no undoing.

Inability to understand some writings
May be due to their meaninglessness.
Line up words beside your experience.
Trust those that fit.
Examine the others later
In the light of new experiences.
Broaden yourself.
Increase your experiential vocabulary.

You need family and friends
So you can serve them.
Strangers limit the service you can give.
Who kisses strangers?
Turning strangers into friends
Increases your options.
Opportunities abound.

Life doesn't always fit my preferred time schedule.
Events don't always occur in the order I favor.
Aging isn't always convenient.
People aren't always available when I want to see them.
Upset and acceptance are possibilities here.
Which do you usually choose?

Jostled by crowds
Don't lose your footing.
Avoid being trampled
But don't pretend you are alone.
Notice the movement
Than flow or anchor.
Fringes offer freedom.

Money measures material.
We compare prices,
Save amounts,
Plan spending.
Money doesn't measure
Time, health, love, meaning, death,
And the like.
No exchanges, no transactions, no refunds.
A ruler shouldn't rule.

Fuel tank on low.
Toothpaste tube empty.
Fingernails grown.
Hungry, sleepy.
Gray hair showing.
Time slips along,
Never returns
Even while remembering.

I guarantee you no guarantees.
You won't live longer,
Grow richer,
Find more love and happiness,
Feel more peace,
Stay healthier,
Achieve greater success
Than otherwise.
Or maybe not.
Untestable hypotheses are word games for foolish people.

Stepping back may give perspective,
But stepping forward may do so, too.
In the midst of a busy life
Take time to breathe.
Notice your clear and present purpose.
Clarify and refine your doing.

Work need not be fun,
But it is necessary.
With an eye on your goals
Do work well.
Let your work lead you
To new goals and skills.

Unfocused leisure leads to sloth.
Use free time constructively.
Slopping habits are unrewarding.
Treasure work and play.
Even the distinction here is tenuous.
Work/play on yourself.
Find/lose yourself in work/play.

How did you earn your life today?
What did you give in exchange for your oxygen intake?
How would your absence affect tomorrow?
Without you what would go undone?
We plan on living.
We plan on dying.
We plan on a world going on,
But there are no guarantees.

Failure leads to the next purpose.
Mistakes lead to the next purpose.
Successes lead to the next purpose.
Winning leads to the next purpose.
Up or down, move on to the next purpose.
Joyful or glum move on to the next purpose.
Magnetic goals pull you along
Away from despair and satisfaction.
Wave as you go by.

Mountain streams run fast or slow
Depending on the terrain.
Mountain pools are deep or shallow
Depending on the rain.
Pace yourself, deepen yourself
According to your circumstances.
Careful preparation
May save much effort later.

Magic words won't make grass grow.
Rain and sunlight do.
Mystical thinking won't fill your stomach
Food will.
Bridges and building aren't built
Only with prayers and invocations.
Look for the science behind mysteries
And the mystery behind science.

Fortunately we don't need to understand everything
But we need to use well what we do understand.

Infants can't talk
So when troubled by feelings
They cry and kick and strike and sulk.
Adults have language
Mediating feelings, thoughts, and action.
When talk concerning feelings doesn't help
Just wait.

Where do you want to go next?
Where do you want to be next?
What are you doing to get there?
Where after that?
Flexible planning pays off.
Planning for direction,
Flexible for changing perspectives along the way.
You already know the best way
To find out
If you can get there from here.

Indulging desires eventually
Teaches the limitation of indulging desires
And the increasing boundaries of desires.
Indulging asceticism teaches the same lessons.
Satisfaction comes from a middle course
And from accepting the limitations and boundaries
That come anyway.

You define what are rewards for your diligent work.
A smile, a “thank you”, a check, a vacation, a good book, a music cd, a kiss, a walk in the woods, whatever.
Be sure to earn your rewards somehow.
Or they lose their status.

Menus are for people who read and decide.
Intravenous feeding is for people who don't.
CL is a menu, not a tube,
Education, not medicine,
Straightforward, not soaring.
You do it or you don't.

Some people will approve of these words.
Some won't. It's okay.
Some people will apply these words.
Some won't. It's okay.
Some people will benefit from these words.
Some won't. It's okay.
Everyone changes.

When it's cold dress warmly.
Don't drive when sleepy.
Don't wait for inspiration before writing.
Don't wait to forgive yourself before facing your next purpose.
Don't wait to foresee everything before taking action.
Don't rely on love to solve all problems.
Don't expect mental rehearsals to change the world.
Ambitious or not, move your body.

To study is to expose yourself to something from a variety of angles.
To study deeply is to immerse yourself in something.
Attention seems to shift from in here to out there.
In a sense, you become the object of study.
Self-awareness disappears.
Lost and found all at once.

If you live long enough
People around you die.
Before they die they need your care.
So prepare yourself for caregiving
Even before they need it.
Your shoes need care, too.
And your dishes.
Take care while giving care.

When you get too hot
Take off your gloves.
There's no extra credit for enduring
When a harmless solution
Is at hand.
But don't snarl at snowflakes.

I don't write well in a crowd
Or sleep well after eating pizza.
Tendencies abound
And change.
Sometimes.

Do what you say you will do.
Don't do what you say you won't do.
Trustworthiness is earned
And easily lost.
It can be earned again
With long effort.
Whatever others may think
You know your measure here.

Romantic love distorts perspective.
Purpose focuses it.
Eyes blurred by love
You might miss a connection.
Feelings happen.
They're okay.
Don't get lost in them.

Writing alone in silence.
I know no other way.
The fertile promptings of the mind
Are cultivated in isolation.
Who knows how or why words appear?

Sex is never neutral.
It exalts or demeans.
It is a gift or it is torture.
Always say “Thanks” when you're done.

The work you do was given to you.
Your success is both earned and bestowed.
Did you grow your own food?
Did you educate yourself with no resource?
Did you find work without assistance?
No one does it all, all alone.

Who is teacher?
Who is student?
The teacher who fails to learn from students
Is not a worthy teacher.
The student who fails to teach
Is not a worthy student.
Two directions, same destination.

Beware phrases such as “aspire to mastery,”
“spiritual attachments,” “harmonious self-cultivation,” and “relinquish desires.”
They don't point to profundity.
They seek to obfuscate and impress.
(Just like the previous sentence.)
Much wisdom can be described with simple words.
Some wisdom cannot be described with words at all.
We earn our wisdom.

Immaculate conceptions converging:
I cannot think your thoughts
Or see with your eyes
Or feel your joy and pain.
A mirror reflects, but remains a mirror.
A photo represents, but remains a photo.
Empathy is a gentle fiction.
So are words.

The Hall of Religion has many doors.
Take a peek here and there.
With lights on and eyes open
You'll find it hard to dally in the Hall.
Too many mysteries attract attention.
Too much unearned support is apparent.
Behind the doors are answers and solutions.
But so many doors.
How many rooms?

You are already engulfed in Reality.
Whatever you do, the flow affects you.
Your efforts will be forgotten in the flow.
Nevertheless, your efforts matter.
Trust Reality to handle its affairs
And do what you can.
You didn't cause the flow.
You won't stop it.
Paddle hard and enjoy the ride.

Traps restrict movement.
Fears and obsessions are traps.
Pressing one's ideas on others is a trap.
Purposeless self-improvement is a trap.
Bottom-line economics is a trap.
Legless poetry is a trap.
There are more traps than people.
No wonder so many are caught.

History is descriptive.
History is not an acceptable explanation
For current Reality in nations or individuals.
My past didn't make me.
For all its influence,
My past is subject to my now.
Nothing reliably predicts my now.
I keep on newly emerging
Along with this moment.
No past mistakes or successes paralyze me.

My teachers include a speedometer, a worn watchband, the sunset, and a gum wrapper.
Their lessons appear when I notice them.
So I must pay attention in order to become a proper student.
Readiness permits much learning.
I notice the gift of readiness, too.
Thank you, readiness.
I notice the gift of appreciation of readiness, too.
Thank you, appreciation.
The infrastructure is endless
And usually unnoticed.

No one taught me to be hungry or scared or satisfied or amused.
They came with the package.
Experience provided add-ons,
Including:
Applications to fill out,
Forms to file,
Instructions to read,
Cautions to observe,
Statutes to obey,
Procedures, maps, passwords, receipts, contracts, and so on.
Thank you, sleep.

Desires don't go away.
They do rearrange themselves.
Some desires never get satisfied.
Live with them.
Some desires are satisfied beyond expectations.
Live with them.
Live with envy and guilt, too.

No one is really “self-employed.”
Those who call themselves “self-employed”
Have spread their dependency over
Clients, suppliers, advertisers
And those who create and support the tools of their trade
Among others.
Employees can talk about a hierarchy of managers.
No one really works alone.

A destination may turn out different from what you expected.
So appreciate the view while traveling.
And use the destination as the starting point for your next trip.
All destinations teach us something.
One lesson may be that we don't need to go there again.
Another lesson may be that we might want to live there.

The end