Amber Scotchburn's Blog

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”

Ahhh…the elusive goal of peace for which we all strive.

Ohhh…the book, ‘The Tao of Pooh” that tells you how to attain it!

And guess what?! It’s very simple. Just be.

Think back to when you were a kid before you had the “everything that might go wrong” or the “everything that has gone wrong” files! You just did! Think back to the pure joy and freedom that came along with doing what you were doing. It’s a beautiful thing when kids ride their bike into the tree, a parked car, a fire hydrant, and/or a hydro box as they are learning. It’s a process. Nobody tells them they are wrong, dumb or can’t do it. Instead they are encouraged to keep doing and being as they are to learn from their miss takes (not mistakes)! And then the moment that they ride without any hands holding them, the pure exhilaration is fantastical!

Approach the things that you need to do in life with a simple childhood mysterious nature! Expect to fall, bang into things, get frustrated and have to do it again. Get people around you that will cheer for you, as opposed to telling you that you can’t do it. Get people around  you that will offer you a hand or automatically reach their’s out, as opposed to push you down. Put your own protective gear on to lessen some of the hurts of the falls and bangs, instead of completely relying on others. What miss take are you going to take on today?! Who are you going to invite to be with you on that path?!

Ok, that was totally an Amber”ism”! However in the book it does suggest that you view mistakes as what your imagination creates as opposed to what it actually happening. So in the above example, the fact is that you are doing the act of riding your bike and you are falling off. So next time, do something different to not fall off. That painting the act of falling off like a mistake, is really our perception of something gone wrong as opposed to what actually is.

Also that as we age, we attain more knowledge which makes us feel more clever…both knowledge and cleverness can be dangerous things when they used to take us out of the moment we are in. For instance if a bird is singing, a mind stuffed with knowledge might not hear it. A clever mind might start racking their brain for what type of bird it is instead of being able to just listen to it. There is a saying: “To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things everyday.” By adding all this information to our being’s, we become disengaged with every day moments. We add tenseness, awkwardness and confusion to those moments. We add to our files of “everything that can and has gone wrong”. We may want to change things as we now know what is right. We may want to change everyone because we are so clever. Hmm…sound like you at any point in your life or anyone you know?! How has that worked for you, trying to change someone? How does it work for you when someone does it to you?!

Also, and very important, is that we begin to not even hear our own inner nature’s guiding us. As a person who lost the ability to feel their gut feelings, this one is very important. Our gut instincts guide us and know what is best for us. Trust this as you are trusting yourself. To get to this point you have to love yourself and get to know yourself. Things I’m still working on

I was brought up in Catholic surroundings: family, friends, church, ceremonies, school, the whole works. A religious way of thinking is discussed in the book and made so much sense to me. Basically the thought process behind religion is that they think the present is out of step with the past and therefore, create man-made rituals to make it right. We see yet another example of where knowledge and cleverness interfere with our natural state of being. It’s as though heaven and the universe are pitted against one another. No wonder I’ve had such a hard time just being! The simplicity of this explanation is beautiful to me. I love the freedom that has come with realizing that religion comes from this place.

Another important facet that the book speaks to is that humanity is unappreciative of what is in the moment as we are conditioned to have attachments to things in the past and desires for things in the future. This can keep someone in a revolving world of pain if one does not realize it. If stuck in the past, you will not be able to enjoy the moment you’re in or potentially even see a future. If you are always waiting for life to happen or for the next phase of it to be attained, what is the point?! Is there something you are fixated on from the past? Is their someone you are fixated on from the past? Are you holding off on life waiting for something amazing to happen? Do you race through your life-like a maniac working like a lunatic to get a reward that will come to you at 65, if all goes according to plan!?

Taoism instead invites you to see heaven and earth as equally desirable places. Therefore to have the same laws in both places. To view the world we are in every day as a place to learn and be as opposed to an evil place full of traps, diseases and general badness.

Realize that wisdom, happiness and courage come from within. They will not be found by desiring something you once had or will have one day.

Good Night! Good Morning! Thanks for stopping by!

ps=My next posting will be my last one (for now) as a life coach on this blog. My postings will start to be focussed on the Tutoring end of my biz.