Be Nothing
What of a life devoid of
“Us, Ours, Us”
or
“Me, Mine, Me”?
What can be thought of
a pine needle
arguing for its identity
apart from the tree?
Or the tree from the forest?
The block from the city?
The pavement from the street?
And what of those who strive only
for themselves – who have called themselves
Individuals
who believe their lives independent
and have set themselves apart?
What have they done to our world?
Let it go.
Let it go.
Find one’s self in everything.
Let one’s self be nothing.
These nine words came to me on February 10th, the day before Super Bowl 58. The phrase, formatted in this three-line stanza (3-syllables, 5-syllables, 3-syllables), arrived with the energy and insistence of a koan.
On the day this koan came to me, the staggering influence of our world’s most powerful egos were hard at work. Trump was trying to pull attention away from the coming football game and back to himself by weaving conspiratorial narratives about the Chiefs, Taylor Swift, and the Pentagon—Swift’s romantic involvement with one of the players and whether-or-not she’d return from her performance in Japan in time for the game was headline news—Usher was hyping his halftime show—etc.
Meanwhile, millions around the world remained locked in brutal warfare. And those with the political power & interest to make the decisions that fundamentally effect life on this planet continued to study our collective momentum—working ceaselessly to capture public-opinion through each surge and shift of our energy and attention…knowing that very soon, our opinions will be cast & counted as votes.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
The nature and purpose of a koan is to give the rational mind a problem it cannot account for, forcing the student to reconnect with intuition to find the riddle’s solution. A koan is each person’s to account for and understand for themselves.
This year, our calendar-year of 2024, humanity has again built a dangerous and familiar momentum. The lesson in this riddle reemerges now with unique urgency and relevance.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
The cliché, “History repeats itself,” is not without substance. Throughout history we are shown our human vulnerabilities cyclically exploited at great cost to ourselves and our world. History illuminates the human being’s capacity for zeal; it illuminates how easily power-and-influence will exert its leverage on a zealous populations’ spirit. It shows factions and countries and continents divided and turned against each other over and over in devastating repetition.
Humans have always been vulnerable to the sway of ego and influence. We are quick adopt the narratives and beliefs handed down to us by those in positions of influence. We divide ourselves based on the beliefs we have accepted as truth. A challenge, or attack, on our beliefs is then interpreted as a challenge, or attack, on the self.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
We have entered, yet again, into a time of heightened violence, of war, atrocity, and division.
The public’s consciousness is being preyed on in all the usual ways. We have been assigned our fears and their corresponding enemies, we have been given our leaders to choose between, we have been made to believe in our faction’s fundamental rightness and the opposition’s wrongness, we have drawn our dividing lines and are being pushed further apart by those who seek to profit from our division.
For some, it is already too late. The fighting has begun and has long been raging. The only way the rest of us can help those who are suffering is by choosing to not be further divided, to not be deceived or further escalated.
Together, we have the collective ability to disempower our emotions and egos, to dissolve our need to be right and for others to be wrong. We have the ability to reach out beyond ourselves to realize our fundamental oneness, our sameness. No pine needle grows apart from the tree.
Find one's self
in everything.
Let one's self
be nothing.
History tells us that impassioned populations wake up too late, that we’re too attached to our egos and beliefs and opinions to realize our mistakes before irreparable harm and suffering has been inflicted. It tells us that we wake up only after we have cast our angry votes, after we have entrenched, become exhausted, and been devastated.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
One can walk up to an abyss and turn away from it—but they cannot return to a ledge after stepping over.
On the day this koan came to me, the staggering influence of our world’s most powerful egos were hard at work. Trump was trying to pull attention away from the coming football game and back to himself by weaving conspiratorial narratives about the Chiefs, Taylor Swift, and the Pentagon—Swift’s romantic involvement with one of the players and whether-or-not she’d return from her performance in Japan in time for the game was headline news—Usher was hyping his halftime show—etc.
Meanwhile, millions around the world remained locked in brutal warfare. And those with the political power & interest to make the decisions that fundamentally effect life on this planet continued to study our collective momentum—working ceaselessly to capture public-opinion through each surge and shift of our energy and attention…knowing that very soon, our opinions will be cast & counted as votes.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
The nature and purpose of a koan is to give the rational mind a problem it cannot account for, forcing the student to reconnect with intuition to find the riddle’s solution. A koan is each person’s to account for and understand for themselves.
This year, our calendar-year of 2024, humanity has again built a dangerous and familiar momentum. The lesson in this riddle reemerges now with unique urgency and relevance.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
The cliché, “History repeats itself,” is not without substance. Throughout history we are shown our human vulnerabilities cyclically exploited at great cost to ourselves and our world. History illuminates the human being’s capacity for zeal; it illuminates how easily power-and-influence will exert its leverage on a zealous populations’ spirit. It shows factions and countries and continents divided and turned against each other over and over in devastating repetition.
Humans have always been vulnerable to the sway of ego and influence. We are quick adopt the narratives and beliefs handed down to us by those in positions of influence. We divide ourselves based on the beliefs we have accepted as truth. A challenge, or attack, on our beliefs is then interpreted as a challenge, or attack, on the self.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
We have entered, yet again, into a time of heightened violence, of war, atrocity, and division.
The public’s consciousness is being preyed on in all the usual ways. We have been assigned our fears and their corresponding enemies, we have been given our leaders to choose between, we have been made to believe in our faction’s fundamental rightness and the opposition’s wrongness, we have drawn our dividing lines and are being pushed further apart by those who seek to profit from our division.
For some, it is already too late. The fighting has begun and has long been raging. The only way the rest of us can help those who are suffering is by choosing to not be further divided, to not be deceived or further escalated.
Together, we have the collective ability to disempower our emotions and egos, to dissolve our need to be right and for others to be wrong. We have the ability to reach out beyond ourselves to realize our fundamental oneness, our sameness. No pine needle grows apart from the tree.
Find one's self
in everything.
Let one's self
be nothing.
History tells us that impassioned populations wake up too late, that we’re too attached to our egos and beliefs and opinions to realize our mistakes before irreparable harm and suffering has been inflicted. It tells us that we wake up only after we have cast our angry votes, after we have entrenched, become exhausted, and been devastated.
Fear the person
who believes too much
in themselves.
One can walk up to an abyss and turn away from it—but they cannot return to a ledge after stepping over.
In the degradation of the great way,
come benevolence and righteousness.
With the exaltation of learning and prudence
comes immense hypocrisy.
The disordered family
is full of dutiful children and parents.
The disordered society
is full of loyal patriots.
- Tao Te Ching, Sutra 18. Translation by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Compounding this koan’s efficacy:
I have invested in this nine-word koan. Its message has compelled me and the current state of our human-union has made me feel the urgency of its message. I have leveraged my position in the message as far as I can. I have purchased a billboard for these nine words to be displayed on, I have bought advertising through Youtube to disseminate it to a public audience that I otherwise would be unable to reach, and its message will appear in the upcoming August 2024 issue of Harper’s Magazine.
If you feel these nine-words are important—and if you would like to see the distribution of this message compounded—please respond to this message and let me know how you’d like to help.
If you’d like to fund another billboard I would be happy to accept funds and do the legwork needed to get the billboard reserved and the graphic installed. If you’d like to see an in-print ad in your favorite publication, I will contact their advertising department and make all arrangements. If you’d like to contribute to online advertising funds, I will do all I can to use them so that they will reach the widest possible audience. I welcome your help and am grateful for any contribution towards expanding the reach and efficacy of this message.
Would you like to make a simple donation to this project?
PayPal
Venmo
Written Check:
Pondering Poet Publishing, Co.
413 N. Last Chance Gulch
Helena, Montana 59601
For: Koan Campaign
Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated. I will use all funds received as wisely as possible to maximize their impact and this message’s efficacy.
I have invested in this nine-word koan. Its message has compelled me and the current state of our human-union has made me feel the urgency of its message. I have leveraged my position in the message as far as I can. I have purchased a billboard for these nine words to be displayed on, I have bought advertising through Youtube to disseminate it to a public audience that I otherwise would be unable to reach, and its message will appear in the upcoming August 2024 issue of Harper’s Magazine.
If you feel these nine-words are important—and if you would like to see the distribution of this message compounded—please respond to this message and let me know how you’d like to help.
If you’d like to fund another billboard I would be happy to accept funds and do the legwork needed to get the billboard reserved and the graphic installed. If you’d like to see an in-print ad in your favorite publication, I will contact their advertising department and make all arrangements. If you’d like to contribute to online advertising funds, I will do all I can to use them so that they will reach the widest possible audience. I welcome your help and am grateful for any contribution towards expanding the reach and efficacy of this message.
Would you like to make a simple donation to this project?
PayPal
Venmo
Written Check:
Pondering Poet Publishing, Co.
413 N. Last Chance Gulch
Helena, Montana 59601
For: Koan Campaign
Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated. I will use all funds received as wisely as possible to maximize their impact and this message’s efficacy.