Shining Aspiration — Series of Dreams

Jan 11

Jan 11 Shining Aspiration

At this time of annual beginning, the old year has scarcely departed and the new is still standing in the doorway. I always spare a thought for the deity Janus, the Roman god of beginnings in this first month. Janus, he of the two faces, takes in past and future time with one glance. He was one of the oldest Roman gods and arguably one of the most important.

When you dig a little deeper, you find that Janus was also the god of gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages and endings. You can spend some minutes lost in fascination over that. It seems to me that he protected all the dangerous moments of this trickster world of ours; times when we might forget where we’ve been, in the hurry to get where we’re going or forget why we started, in the hurry to get to the end. The month of January is thought by many to take its name from him and thus he’s a good fellow to spend time with right about now.

I thrill to the sound of new beginnngs, fresh starts and strong aspirations. Having been fortunate enough to spend time with Buddhist mind training texts for as long as I can remember, this should come as no surprise. The first of the five powers, as they are called, is resolution. At this time of year it is our natural instinct to resolve to adopt positive habits and change things for the better. I’ve learnt from experience that the real trick is in the second power of familiarisation. In essence this is the slow and steady behaviour that has to be developed with consistency over time after such strong starts. I guess that’s becoming properly acquainted with the rhythms of life and death. The lessons of life can’t be learned in a day, as a poet once said.

The clouds are idling in the light blue afternoon sky and I contemplate the new beginning offered by the start of 2021. We are living through a strange interlude of suspended animation; anxiety and uncertainty have become so familiar that we can forget to notice them. One could think that the rituals of reflection on the past and aspiration for the future have no place or power for us. With all opportunities for a normal existence curtailed, perhaps we should retreat into the shadows and move through life with fear and timidity.

The external world appears to be encouraging a romanticised retreat, on all fronts. Whether we are escaping from minor irritations or fooling ourselves into the belief that we can hide safely outside the fabric of reality, we are walking into limitation within limitation without a whisper of protest. The effect on our ability to break free and soar on the limitless wings of great aspirations will be devastating indeed if we allow this habit to take shape within us.

I watch the darkness crawl across the sky and I breathe deeply. Times such as these challenge us to look within and draw from the deepest well of our being; to reflect on past fallings short and to renew our determination to climb the steepest mountain in service of that to which we owe everything. An aspiration for the practice of virtue, which elevates and causes to shine, will in the end purify the grimiest corners of our hearts.

In this currently dull landscape of ours, the skies are a slippery gray and clouds cover the ground we walk upon. Forgetfulness of that which truly sustains us has eaten the minds of many. It seems more important than ever to live with bravery to the best of our intentions. For who knows when this will end and where we will be when it does.