Zen Pencils by Gavin Aung Than for March 28, 2016

Uh, no. Sorry. Nope.Recognizing all that come my way as having value? Absolutely! Feeding and nurturing Hate, Anger, Depression just as I would Love, Peace, and Joy? Nope. I’ve come too far to go back there, and I have too long of a road yet to travel. Each are welcomed, as a part of this journey of mine, but they will not each be nurtured equally.Blessed Be

Private RoomYou think of your mind as a private roomSomewhere to go to be aloneBut the doors of your mind are open wideAnd the uninvited just wander in.

Fleeting Impulses,Faster than thought.Shoot out your hand to strike or grab.Use your voice to shout strange words.Or turn your gaze to something lostOr a treasure to be found.

Urges, nagging you to cut, smoke, inject or drinkTo steal, and fight, and wreck, and burn.Or maybe to call a wandered friendOr repair a broken family bond.

Whisperers reveal hidden thingsWords of knowledge, wisdom and truthOr lies, doubts, self-loathing and fearsEncouraging words, flattering wordsWords of hatred and revenge.

Inspirations: Born fully-formed.Whole novels, grand paintings, and sculptureInstruments of pain and tortureScience, maths and medicineCrime and warfare and terror.

Fantasies: intoxicating dramas in your mindOld conflicts endlessly replayedAnd new ones forever rehearsedDreams of money, fame, sex, and powerWith emotions as real as life,But as substantial as cotton candy.

Passions: Strong emotion without causeLust and anger, jealousy and resentmentThoughts clouded by smoke from blazing blood.

They come and they stay,And we think they are usWe are their victims, their puppetsBut, we have a choice.

The master became victimSo victim could be masterAnd our room can be clearedAnd the door can be guarded

Then we decide who shares our mind.Who guides our handAnd speaks with our voice.And freedom and peace are ours.

Yes, how does one greet depression or shame with laughter? Maybe the poet meant that all feelings are okay to feel.

Sorry. Doesn’t speak to me at all. Too many concepts contrary to my personal experience.

Lesson summary:All thoughts and feelings are a part of you and are to be acknowledged and their existence accepted. However, you do not need to act on them.From personal experience I learned that denied thoughts and feelings were the ones that wouldn’t pass until I did act on them, usually causing pain for myself if not including others.So come on all thoughts and feelings, for most of them only want acknowledgement before they pass on.

Waaaay to self-centered. Look outward intently enough, and inner troubles have no power.

Best artwork I’ve seen in this strip so far.

The sum of your existence.A part from an old song.I’m more than that, I know I am, at least I think I must beThere you go man, keep as cool as you can.Face piles and piles of trials with smiles.It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weaveand keep on thinking free.

Rumi’s one of my favorite poets and he can’t be read out of our mundane experience. The question is, can we recognize and speak from the level of our true selves and not the personalities we seem to have become. No one accepts hate with joy on the human plane. To explain more would be to say Zen can be explained. Have a great one!

So in other words Keep Calm and Carry On

There is no I. The fleeting moments and what they bring are not the self. They are only the guests of the moment. The self is a prison with an open door. Every experience has value, if only to make us more perceptive of others.

Way to go, Gavin! Bravo, Rumi!Namaste, God Bless, and Blessed Be!

Accept your emotions, but do not be ruled by them.

Yeah let the rapist and child molester in. Why not??

That was sarcasm folks.

I think that this strip has two sides. One, the obvious “Feelings” and the other is to accept the awful people, because it is better to be kind to all the reject the bad.