The eagle's gift...

[Guest guest]

Rob quoted Carlos Castaneda: "...When he finally grasped that his

benefactor, in all seriousness, had

resigned himself to fail, it also dawned on him that a warrior's

resolution

to live impeccably in spite of everything cannot be approached as a

strategy for ensuring success. ...Don Juan said that at such moments a

lifelong training takes over, and the warrior enters into a state of

unsurpassed humility; when the true poverty of his human resources

becomes

undeniable, the warrior has no recourse but to step back and lower his

head."

>From "The Eagle's Gift"

 

Mmmm!!! That is very helpful to me. Thank you. Both the practice of

loving and kindness, honesty, etc AND the surrender when it isn't

enough... I understand now. It doesn't take an infinite amount of

practice. It takes being resigned to an infinite amount of practice and

commitment to an infinite amount of practice and you embark on an

infinite amount of practice, and when you finally realize that you have

to mean it and it still won't be enough, perhaps grace touches you on

the shoulder, and if you've practiced enough, you can do it and it

becomes real. I guess the best thing to tell myself is that it takes an

infinite amount of practice, so tea break over, back on my head.

 

I read Castaneda many years ago and while I probably understood only the

tip of the iceberg, I loved it then. I think I'll reread it. In fact,

I just read the latest... what is it called? Can't seem to dredge it

up, but it's a synopsis of the journey, ending with the jump. Cool

stuff. Thanks for posting this.

 

Love, Mark