I'd rather eat bean buns

Good morning Relatives

its super cold today   yet the sky is so present in the crispness  I was able to see the evening and the morning star both in the past twelve hours   so clear and present
I'm working on the writing of the Kung Fu panda interpretation? the teachings that I see in it  and in doing so of course I am getting a great education

its funny how once we clean our glasses the world does have a different focus doesn't it? and it is also funny how what we are working on in ourselves is so immediately relevant to what is next
I received an email from a good acquaintance and it had a link in it to a pod cast by two well respected folks that was titled "The Inner Life of Rebellion"

you know how it is that in the first five minutes that you spend with someone you find out not only how they treat themselves but how as a result of how violent or not they are willing to be to themselves reflexively how violent they are willing to be with you   or you can replace violence with any other adjective or verb as you like  but the first five minutes like a title to a talk are very telling

out of respect for the elder that sent me the link I am looking at this talk

so before I even listened to the pod cast  I reflected on the title
which may seem abrupt to some but the title of something is in fact a big summary of the core of the media

so  I hope you enjoy

First reflection     I am not rebelling    I am restoring myself to my inner focus while staying fully engaged and present in my life 

the wheel that turns me is not outside but within and it turns on this planet and through me and the water that passes through me with each breath and each word and each thought   there is no violence in me nor will I allow the movement of violence to go through me as if I am here to be its filter 

rather I begin and end with neither the idea of a closed system or the thought that it has to have a ruling party 

when we step into the arena of either- or, we have already lost and become prey to the illusion of control

the use of the word rebelling is to assume an antagonistic stance or demeanor   a power play   it assumes that I must either attack or defend something that at best can hold my attention only long enough for me to be destroyed by it 

remember the panda does not chew on the fist of his foe    

remember the only foe the panda faces is the one inside of himself   himself 

rebelling means that there is acquiescence to the idea, the concept that there is a power source outside of me that has right to lay claim to me  

which is false 

chewing on that fist will only distract and deplete me and put my foe in charge of my Effort 

if I take the idea that I must be or am rebellion into my mouth and chew on it, then I have already conceded that I am not available to me. This is chewing on the fist of the illusion of control and giving my center over to that which is not real

I would rather eat bean buns

thank you for the conversation 

best 

mary