BALANCING WORLDLY LIFE AND NURTURING THE SPIRIT

[Pravin Kumar]

Balancing Worldly Life and Nurturing The Sprirt

Many people I know are stressed or tired,
As expectations and living standards rise,
Causing more and more to be desired,
Difficult as global incomes equalize.

Compare this with many ‘primitive’ tribal cultures,
Where the spirit world is highly prized,
And with no ownership there are no ‘vultures’,
So for material lack none are despised.

Which makes me question our Western paradigm,
Of incessant busyness and unnecessary deadlines.
For reflection and contemplation there’s no time,
As achievement and acquisition are what ‘us’ defines.

What’s needed is a more balanced approach,
Between worldly life and nurturing the ‘soul’,
So materialism doesn’t all of our time poach,
Simplifying life brings us nearer to ‘the whole’.

This is much easier with correct identification,
As, and with, Pure Awareness, not a separate ‘thing’,
Self-image and self-grasping undergo annihilation,
Nothing is needed to feel the pure joy of ‘being’.

Body and mind as an instrument of That,
Needs to keep itself clothed, sheltered and fed,
Which does not entail becoming a ‘fat cat’.
Just gain enough, not stressing to ‘get ahead’.

Leaving time to relax, contemplate and enjoy,
The world, Consciousness in manifestation,
Awake, as Awareness we then can employ,
Our physicality without personification.
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This is a poem from 'Poetry From The Happiness That Needs Nothing' based on chapter sixteen of 'The Happiness That Needs Nothing'.

Colin Drake