10/03/2024
I once knew a man, an extremely talented woodworker he was. He was building his house when I met him, and he had been for 20 years. It wasn't finished yet, and I believe it isn't still. He was building his masterpiece. Using all his skills, craftsmanship, experience, and design abilities, to build the most amazing home he could that would display his talents.
As many of you know, I'm a woodworker, and a musician. And I've often thought to myself, through the years, what's going to be my masterpiece? A piece of furniture, a great song or album? Mostly I think those were subconscious thoughts, but looking back now, I can see the sentiment was always there, and I was always working "for" it, even if I wasn't sure what it was. But it definitely defined my direction somehow.
I'm realizing now, my "life" is my masterpiece. All the gifts I've been born with, and how I've applied them throughout the years to others, to myself, to the World and to the Cosmos. Some of it intentional, but not most of it, and intention is hugely important. It's still a work in progress, and it won't be finished until I take my last breath, and probably not even then, but at last I know what it's going to be. My availability to others, my availability to myself. My pursuit of enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. Boundless and depthless compassion (as a verb) and empathy for all beings. These are the things that are the building blocks of my masterpiece. Me, for the benefit of all beings.
For over thirty years I've dedicated myself to spiritual practice. The last twenty four years of that have been dedicated to Dzogchen. I obviously haven't achieved enlightenment, but my pursuit has made me a much better human than I was before my practice, and I will never stop reaching for that goal of enlightenment.
My point however, is that I've finally stopped wondering, how, where, or what my masterpiece was going to be, and realized it's this incredible "life" I've been given, and am working on, creating, and living for sixty one years, or longer. I've stopped looking outside myself for my masterpiece, or what tangible, material thing it would be, and realized it's right here with me now, and always has been. I've been working in a regular sense on my life too, not as what I saw as my masterpiece, but what I saw as something important for me to do. Not just for myself, my ego, but for all beings. I've always been aware of the importance of such intention since I was maybe in the womb, but I didn't see "it" as the masterpiece.
So from now on, I will be dedicating my time left in this realm to working on my actual masterpiece,... me. Not for myself, and all to revel at, but for the benefit of all beings. As many as I can touch with my love.
