On this lovely Sunday in the Okanagan, it was nice to start the day listening to some songs by the Traveling Wilburys.  If you have not ever read or heard the story of George Harrison and The Traveling Wilburys, you should.  It is an amazing story. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_Wilburys

One could easily conclude that when the team of Harrison, Petty, Orbison, Dylan wrote Handle with Care they were telling you a story of any person that has had tough times, and now needs careful treatment talking to his/her loved one and asking that he/she is kind to him/her, because of everything he/she has suffered. 

Now, it is true that life itself, depending on how you view it, is nothing but a various set of tribulations. But what if you look at it from a different perspective?  If you assume that life only includes birth, aging/decay, and then death – you are looking at a dualistic world that has both pain and joy.  That is a very limited view of things and is kind of boring to say the least. 

Put your poets’ hat on and consider this view of the world for a few minutes of quiet introspection in a silent place.  This poem was written by a chap named Kabir who was a weaver/poet that lived in the 15th century.  

You could go a step further and dedicate your entire life to answering the real question – Who Am I?  

But baby steps are good. 

I said to the wanting-creature inside me:

What is this river you want to cross?

There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.

Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?

There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.

There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.

There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!

And there is no body, and no mind!

Do you believe there is some place that will make the

soul less thirsty?

In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body;

there you have a solid place for your feet.

Think about it carefully!

Don’t go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of

imaginary things,

and stand firm in that which you are.

However, until you reach the enlightened state that Kabir and other Saints reached – you will be stuck in the world of pleasure and pain.  

And that is just fine, life is fantastic – as long as you have someone that will Handle You with Care.