In the strange and sometimes manic but perfectly peaceful personal utopia that I inhabit and co-create, there are occasions when I dialogue with local sages, mystics, high priests and priestesses and even groups of young trainee rabbis.
On one such occasion debating the benefits of rigorous study over the comforts of staying in bed. I was willed, and this is not the first time such a statement has ushered forth from my lips, in a almost Krishnamurti-like utterance; “All I’m suggesting is that you take your life seriously! What you do from then on in is your business.” I continued.
Of course as with any discussion with students of the Talmud, it couldn’t have been left alone, the entire statement had to be dissected, analysed and proved to be utter stupidity, before they were to even hear what it is I was trying to convey.
“What does serious mean?” one asked. They concluded that language itself was problematic because “serious doesn’t mean anything” they insisted.
Anyways, I bravely tried to explain what the opposite of “serious” was and how living a life of frivolity and merry foolishness was not particularly good. (Although ironically, I usually advocate increased merriness and frivolity for most of my life-coaching clients.)
Eventually, when they did agree that it was a good idea to take their life more seriously, they started speaking of ideals such as ‘Truth’ and the inevitability of the search and discovery of ‘Truth’, if one was to take their life seriously.
I reiterated, what I’d said before, (in these circles you’ve got to repeat yourself over and over for them to actually listen) I’m not interested in what happens after you start to take your life seriously, just take it seriously, it is a state of being, a state of mind, a mindset that I’m suggesting you adopt in order that you make the most of your life and make the most of your time stuck in rabbinical school!
Even if you conclude that life is meant to be about fun and excitement, at least be serious about it! Stop being wishy-washy, and get serious! If fun is what it’s about then have serious fun!
This wasn’t going down too well, so I started talking about everything being ONE. And believe it or not that got more resistance, than me telling them to take their life seriously.
I tried to explain that if they were to take the idea of everything being ONE seriously then their life would be completely different. I ended up having to explain that this idea was is actually one of the fundamentals of Judaism and the Kabbalistic tradition, but they found the entire concept very difficult to assimilate.
Anyway by this time, I thought I’d cut my losses and hit the road, I chuckled to myself about the irony of me lecturing to a bunch of very well behaved student rabbis about the virtues of being serious and the experience of ONE.
But if you’re going be serious about anything it’s best if it’s about the Oneness of All Existence.
This post was written by Urban Guru on December 17, 2007
