Sleep Driving In Lala Land

Having recently returned from Scotland I have concluded
that the drivers there are far superior to the drivers in Canada.

Why?

One reason.
If you don't pay attention to your driving in Scotland,
you will either go over a cliff or be run off the road.
Either way you may be dead.

The roads are so narrow, and the cliffs are so steep,
that a moment of inattention might be your last.

I didn't see anyone driving with a cell phone to their ear.
I don't think I saw anyone driving with a smoke in their hand.
I don't think I saw anyone driving with a Tim Horton's in their hand.

In Canada everyone has a cell to their ear while driving.
Many also have a smoke, a coffee, or both in their hands.

The roads are so wide open and straight that
there is little demand for attention.

Our desire for convenience and safety
has disconnected us from our environment.

We don't pay attention because we don't have to.

Rather than pay attention to safety, wear a helmet.
Rather than pay attention to accuracy, throw it away and start over.
Rather than pay attention to what you are doing, do it on autopilot.
Rather than pay attention to reality, create your own reality.
Rather than pay attention to Life, live in Lala land .

Plugged into every orfice, we are wired into a world
that is far far removed from the reality of Life.

Multitasking.
Undue Care and Attention.
Attention Deficit.
Divided Attention.
Continuous Partial Attention.
Dreamworld.
Robot Life.
Zobified.
Lala land.
Asleep.

Am I Sisyphus or Masochist?

I have recently, strangely, fallen in love with hill jogging/running/crawling. I arrive to Kin Canyon in Red Deer, walking and stretching as I approach the hill. I stand at the bottom and look up with affection. I know this hill. I love this hill. I know what is to come.

This is like foreplay.

I am full in the body, with attention flooding the breath and the belly I relax and prepare.

I start to jog up it's immediately steep slope, the path winding gently before coming to the halfway point where it becomes steeper yet. Here I dig in and push, with another 30 strides to the top. Thighs start to burn and the breath is short.

The last 10 strides are really tough, but because I can see the top, nothing can stop me. When I reach the flattened top I need to catch my breath, and that's all. When I can stand up straight I look around at the beautiful view, then immediately turn around and start the descent.

Even the descent is tough, but I am already preparing for what is to come. When I am at the bottom, I turn and look at the top, take a deep breath, and start again. This time I am stronger, more determined, more focused. Somehow this time is easier, even though it's harder.

It is here that it becomes obvious that the body knows what it is doing without any need of the thinking mind. In fact, thought is only an impediment.

The body has another kind of knowing, adjusting itself as needed. When attention is full in the body, functioning is effortless, efficient and accurate.

I jog up and down this hill at least 4 times, the last two are excruciating. When the mind is quite because it is no longer needed, the body does what it knows.

Like Sisyphus, I am destined to struggle to the top, only to decend and prepare to struggle to the top again. I am going nowhere, and it is easy to find joy in a journey that has no destination.

Like many of the tasks of Life, if we cannot find joy in the doing of them, we will eventually find out that they never really lead anywhere.

With Awakened Attention, every moment, every act is complete in itself, not going anywhere but always worthy of attention.

It's all we have.