the goal is the present moment
From the commentary on Abandonment:
i agree with you when you say:
my own experience is that there is always more, so in that sense, this is infinite….And, that’s it too: as there is always more, in obedience, i “become more” as i journey in this way
yes–i don’t think that seeing “the practice as the practice” implies that the above doesn’t happen–i was not suggesting stagnation at all, but a constant deepening, as you say, infinite, like a spiral.
But, as far as there being a “goal”…i understood that it is best to put expectations aside–if we feel goal-oriented, we have expectations? my understanding is that we do it to do it–we practice obedience because we want to be obedient, and in the moment of practice, we are. Any result that comes from this is superfluous.
my “goal” is to learn obedience and submission on a deep level (on an ever-deepening, infinite level), but the way, i think, to achieve that is to forget about the goal and rather attend to the duty of the present moment.
The reason i don’t see there being a “goal” in the usual sense is that that implies an ending–oh, you have reached your goal, here’s your diploma, congratulations…no, it is constant, infinite, and ongoing–the process is the goal. To me, anyway…
Do you have a goal that you are working towards?
– h., a watchful sister
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