Time and Balance
Time and Balance
Travelling back from my day out today I heard this song on the radio. “To everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season, turn, turn, turn …a time to be born .. a time to die .. a time to laugh … a time to weep …”
Do you recognise these words? Have you heard the song? It was a popular song in the 60s, by Pete Seegar and the Byrds, though the lyrics originate from the Book of Ecclesiastes. I used to have the most gorgeous children’s book that had these wonderful words in and colourful illustrations to show all the ideas. Sometimes when I am speaking about meditation and life I mention the song and the deep message it brings.
When I hear it now, though, I also think of someone I used to know.He died last year. For me, he did not just talk, or sing, about real and practical wisdom like that shared in the song. He applied it to life and studied the results.
When I returned home this afternoon, I dug out my little book of Reflections for Dawn, Dusk and Day. Â Anthony Strano is the author and it’s he who I refer to when I mention real and practical wisdom. I knew him a little. We would bump into each other occasionally at the meditation centres in Oxford and London and also in India. The great thing about talking to him was that I came to see his practical spirituality and so all the formal talks I heard him give, and the informat chats he and I had, meant more to me somehow, because he was ‘walking his talk’.
Listen to this:
All things have their time. All things have their answers.
All things have their right to be.
Accepting this reality, all things come into harmony …
Time is my instrument of expression.
Without the flow of time I remain locked,
like the seed that is planted in the earth.
I, the flower, wait for the opportunity of time.
Contentment comes and only comes
when I finally decide to live as I am meant to live.
To be what I know I am;
to love others as they are …
When there is conflict what position should I take?
If I yield too much, there are feelings of suppresion.
If I assert too much, there is danger of domination.
The best position is to step out of both and go up above.
Look at everything from there.
Observe … become lighter and clearer ..
From above, I find balance …
Society, politics, science, relationships .. everything moves and changes so fast these days. We can feel like we are running with it all the time, stopping occasionally to gasp for a breath of air when we can, then off we go again.
Do yourself a favour. Read the words of someone who was able to resist getting caught up in the fast pace. He definitely had lots to do, but he had learned to pause, wait and watch. He practised turning inside himself for his own wisdom, and towards God for the love to believe in himself.
It’s such an easy read, this little book. Short passages for different times of the day. For the morning, to stretch and smile and think about empowerment. For the day, when keeping your head clear is important and to watch out for signs of arrogance. And for the dusk, when you can curl up with yourself and move your thoughts into peace.
Anthony wrote about love and humility, about stillness and silence. He had learned to connect with everyone and to honour life and death. And he was a master at accepting that everything is as it is.
” … to everything there is a season .. a time to be born .. a time to die …a time to be silent and a time to speak … a time of war and a time of peace ….”
Beautiful……