Barbie and Ken Versus Spiritual Seeking
What’s the difference?
An occasional soul will wander in to the Forest Dweller years before their time, but most of us find ourselves moving there in our sixties and seventies. We are able to take the time for replaying and digesting our householder years. We are coming to terms with our lives, accepting, forgiving (often ourselves) and seeing more clearly what has played out over our lifetime so far.
Mainly, if we’re lucky, there is a major dismantling of our beliefs and cultural identities, coming to understand that these beliefs and identities are useless in the face of WHAT IS.
Indescribable in words. As the Tao Te Ching says “He who says does not know, he who knows does not say.” The closest I got in my seeking years was a post-it on my car dashboard that simply read IS.
I am getting to Barbie, but first I want to say that the surprising thing for me was that when my beliefs and identity started imploding, so did my judgemental thoughts about others’ beliefs and identities. I started to lose my interest in what other people should do, just as I started losing interest in what I should do.
I was much more interested in what was actually happening in other people’s lives rather than how much better they might be if they meditated, came to Satsang, communicated “more fully” with their partner or had the right political orientation.
I have a friend I love madly who is super in to Barbie and Ken. She collects only vintage doll clothes for them and delights in setting up elaborate dioramas. I enjoy talking to her about it all- I’m smiling as I write this.
A nod to Wayne Liquorman here for a conversation he had years ago when he asked “What is the difference between you (spiritual seekers at a Satsang) and thimble collectors?”
The answer, of course, is nothing!
As Ramesh used to point out, we are like different appliances animated by electricity. Some of us are toasters, others are refrigerators etc. When life moves through us, we do what we are meant to do. No need to compare, judge, nor worry.
With MUCH appreciation for your reading, commenting on and liking this post.
Ha! Viva the thimble collectors....
“… animated by electricity…” snapped me awake 💜