Timon wrote:
>"Why should you want? Behold, the earth has roots;
>Within this mile break forth a hundred springs;
>The oaks bear mast. the briars scarlet hips;
>the bounteous housewife Nature on each bush
>Lays her full mess before you. Want? Why want?"
I tend to use the ZEN interpretation of this
rather than the literal view that nature provides
everything we need. To me it says our created
desires for something outside the present causes
us dissatisfaction.
The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise
grows it under his feet. -James Oppenheimer
Happiness doesn't depend on what we have, but it does
depend on how we feel towards what we have. We can be
happy with little and miserable with much. -- W. D.
Hoard
Within your own house dwells the treasure of joy; so why od
you go begging from door to door? -- Sufi Saying
There are lots of ZEN stories dealing with this topic. A
modern one has an astronaut seeking adventure and going
to the moon. On the moon his rocket fails and he knows
his oxygen will only last a few hours. At that moment
he thinks that standing on earth would be the greatest
joy possible. The trees and dirt would be beautiful
and he would never take them for granted again. The
story goes on and suggests we learn to enjoy what we
have before seeking it elsewhere. This is the point of
ZEN meditation.. to connect back to the present.
jeff
