The Growing Room

Welcome to the first ever ZEN FRIDAY’S post!

Friday’s at The Growing Room are now officially dedicated to a single post by Josh G. who will put his knowledge of Zen Buddhism, Eastern philosophy, Taoism, and other Zen like life styles on the front page of The Growing Room for all to see.

photo credit: Angie Torres

Here at The Growing Room we consider ourselves very peaceful, accepting, and passionate people. We all share the common wisdom that their is a oneness within all existence and non-existence, seamlessly linked. It is the perceptions of the human mind that separate ‘the oneness of all that is’ into separate pieces and rationalizations via. thought and action.

Zen Friday’s are here to brighten up your day and allow you to come to the realization that life is meant to be enjoyed to the fullest; a game that must be played for the joy of playing, instead of winning.

We will get more into the Zen lifestyle later, but for now I hand the torch to my brother Josh.

-Matt

RUSH HOUR TAO

This summer I started a new job in New York City. During my 25 minute commute, I pass through two of the most crowded hubs on the entire island of Manhattan: Penn Station, and Grand Central. When my train arrives, I am already in the midst of a mad flurry of commuters, each with focused eyes dead set on destinations. It can easily be one of the most stressful environments if you let it get out of hand. People shove and push, pack themselves in and fight to be the first past turnstyles and subway doors. Everywhere you look their are frustrated and tired people giving nasty looks to one another. Occasionally, a man who has been doing it for 30 years will lose his cool and say something. Then everybody around him looks at him and each other, and they’re all embarassed for him, even though they can all relate.

In these situations, where I’m swinging from one train to the next like a trapeze artist, I’ve come to learn the walk of the Tao. The walk of the Tao is about going with the flow, with the grain, and letting natural momentum carry you along the path of least resistance. The first few times I went through the commute, I rushed along, guided by tunnel vision, making jagged and unnatural maneuvers trying to weave my way through the crowds. I walked into everyone. My face flushed with frustration and I began to sweat on the crowded humid platforms. I wasn’t getting anywhere any faster.

So I decided to slow it down a little. I cut my pace in half and let me environment pick up the extra slack. The people began to propel me forward, in a way. I let the crowd make their own sharp jerks around me, I walk briskly, but I soften my focus and take in a wider range of information. I glide through massive throngs of rush hour commuters by letting them do most of the work. The great thing is, I seem to be arriving at my destinations faster. When you rush around and exert yourself, whether it be walking or driving, you are only feeling an illusion of getting things done faster. In reality, you are creating unnecessary stress for yourself.

We are all part of our environments. No matter how hard we may try to push and shove and impose our will on external circumstances, we’ll always get farther when we work with the world instead of against it.

If you didn’t have an environment, who would you be?It’s an integral part of every experience you have in reality.

So learn to walk with it, as part of it. The walk of the Tao.

-Josh