The Natural Way of Being

(Playful girl in Western Tibet, 2009) The Natural Way of Being There’s a natural way of being And then there is a contrived way Of trying to become. I remember the natural way as a child Simply being, exploring, playing, And I’ve pursued the contrived way Most of my life since. It comes from a lack of confidence When training in the unfamiliar. But if we want to get beyond the habits Of our conditional mind We have to explore the unfamiliar. Eventually, I suppose, we gain confidence In what is beyond ordinary mind. But if my life is any indication This process of familiarization Takes many lifetimes, Lifetimes spent trying. Master Yoda famously pointed out the distinction “Do or do not. There is no try.” And yet as clear and easy as this is to see We continue to try, Forcing round pegs into square holes. Because that’s what the system does And so what we become conditioned to do. If we’re lucky we find an activity or hobby Doing something that comes naturally Improving through practice without trying To become something we’re not. For years rock climbing was this for me, Something I did because I wanted to, In my own way and without a doubt. And doing in this way I discovered What is to be free, what it is to be me, And what it is to be connected to everything else. In this way I found my true spiritual practice Without it being something special Or somehow separate from the physical. What I found was what I knew as a child Without even knowing I knew; The passion of living, the pull of life, Of a moth to flame, or bee to nectar, The force of life embodied only in this life. I remember what it was like being a child And what it’s been like ever since. What it’s like to want to change And all the steps and stages along the way. There’s a contrived way of trying to become And then there’s the natural way of being Which is, in truth, our true nature. (2/2/25)