Skimming the surface

     How many times have I bought a book, put it on my shelf, but never got the chance to read it. Nevertheless, there's a misguided sense of ownership of the contents by virtue of buying it.

     How about buying the gear for an activity that sounds like fun, but which one never even begins to do eg fly fishing. Or buying a gym membership, but using it maybe once.

     We seem to live in an age where information, activities, clothing, food, geographic locations, even secrets of the world's wisdom traditions are all readily available. We're drowning in choice, but we flail like a drowning person on the surface of things. Have we lost the ability to dive deeply, immersing ourselves in a single activity? Perhaps we fear that we'll become out of touch, idiot savants, unless we keep up with constant newsfeeds, tweets, emails etc?

     “So long as one is merely on the surface of things, they are always imperfect, unsatisfactory, incomplete. Penetrate into the substance and everything is perfect, complete, whole.” 
        Kapleau P. “The Zen of Living and Dying. A Practical and Spiritual Guide.” Shambhala, Boston, 1998.

Photo: Colin Bates   http://www.coastalimageworks.com/