Dear James,
As you know, this drama has been playing out for quite some time. There’s been so many sleepless nights and gut roiling. This has actually been maybe the most stressful situation we’ve ever had to deal with. And there’ve been many.
But what an opportunity to practice karma yoga!!! It’s constant consecration to *Isvara*. I mean several times a minute, even! I actually woke up today KNOWING
that everything is fine, that whatever happens is exactly as it is meant to happen. I think I’ve *~almost~* let go of what I hope or want. Still doing the karma yoga thing
with that.
I am eternally grateful for Vedanta. How does anyone deal with life without it?! I do have a question though. Are all situations designed to work out karma? I think the Christian tradition would say that God is testing your faith. But I wonder if I’m just not getting it. At least my gut has stopped twisting for the first time in days.
James: You’ve got it. Everything is fine. Karma yoga is burnout insurance. The absence of a roiling gut should give you total confidence. That’s *Isvara* saying YES! Peace is the experience of you as Self. Yes, everything is designed to work out karma, meaning to see if a particular action will produce a beneficial result. Some do and some don’t, but ultimately karma is zero-sum. When you are clear about that, the one that works things out relaxes and works relaxed.
The whole thing was a tempest in a teapot built on the assumption that we need to maintain a certain standard of living. No harm done, however, if karma yoga is the result. Vedanta says we should assume the bare minimum for our bodies and the maximum for peace of mind. I was just as happy when I didn’t have a pot to piss in as I am in this house on the hill. What we are counts not what we have. Well, you know that. Anyway, I’m happy for you. Stay that way, X will follow.
