Chapter 25. Feeding Yourself
The phrase "feeding yourself" kind of follows Maslow's hierarchy, doesn't it?
When you're broke, feeding yourself means finding enough food.
Later, it might be more about choosing between caviar and truffles.
After you get enough toys and truffles, you start to bump into those tricky "self-actualization" issues.
Picture this: In Zen mythology there is a character who figured it out. He was probably born into royalty, although nobody's really sure. He achieved material success and turned his back on it. He lived in the hills, enjoyed good wine, and got a kick out of making fun of the serious monks.
He figured out that we already live in the garden, and he made the most of it. Come to think of it, most pictures and statues of Buddha picture him smiling, don't they?
A careful reading of the world's spiritual texts—the ones that absolutely resonate with the crystal inevitability of truth-turn up no references to material possessions as the path to happiness. And yet, what do we spend our time on?
Why?
Listen to Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist, when he talks about playing his cello.
Even after decades of playing the cello, his most treasured moments are the ones when he sits alone, caressing his cello and drawing transcendent music from it.
When he talks about his instrument, and his relationship with it, you can feel the rich, centuries-old wood, see the deep grain, and hear the timeless tone as his bow brings the strings and wood to life. He loves what he does.
He doesn't care ...
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