The Wisest People I Know All Believe This
Energy, matter and your true potential
The Dalai Lama is a bit of a goofball.
I mean no disrespect, but that’s the quickest way to explain today’s topic. Even the deepest and most serene among us must sometimes spend time in the opposite space.
There are many ways to say this:
If you use plant medicine every day, you are going to have trouble functioning in the real world.
If you are a workaholic, you almost certainly will lack the strong personal relationships necessary for true fulfillment.
Even accountants should occasionally try pottery or painting.
Priests and rabbis still have to file tax returns.
It’s easy to get stuck in whatever way of being comes most naturally to you (or in whatever way of being your job or family expects you to occupy).
That’s a big mistake.
The wisest people I know all believe this: you must switch between modes. Between logic and mystery. Precision and intuition. Heart-centered and head-centered. Structure and surrender. It’s not either/or—it’s dancing between them that matters.
When the Dalai Lama tells fart jokes, he’s showing us how to move between reverence and levity without losing our center.
Tom Brokaw, the former anchor for NBC news—one of the most demanding and disciplined jobs on the planet, “unwound with the Do Boys—a gang of adventure luminaries that includes Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, climber and writer Rick Ridgeway, and environmentalist Doug Tompkins—kayaking in the Russian Far East, trekking across Mongolia, fly-fishing at his Montana ranch, and climbing throughout the West” (that’s verbatim from Outside Magazine).
Serious as hell at work, then a few weeks with his head literally in the clouds.
When we stay in one mode too long, our souls start to wither. We grow brittle. Unimaginative. Less human.
Another way to say this is that it’s wise to spend time in numerous different spots on the spectrum between ENERGY and MATTER.
Energy is pure potential—everything that could exist before it becomes something specific. Consciousness collapses that potential into a single, lived reality.
Matter is everything that surrounds us in our day-to-day lives: other people, your kitchen table, your corporate headquarters, and the food you eat. To access any and all matter, you have to be very focused and specific: use your dominant hand to pick up the fork right in front of you and place one piece of pasta into your mouth, then chew carefully.
So if you’ve been deep in productivity mode, try staring at the stars for an hour. If you’ve been floating in the clouds, go build a spreadsheet. Not just because balance is a virtue, but because crossing the boundary teaches you something you can’t learn any other way.
It’s not weakness to step out of your lane. It’s genius.
So… where have you been stuck lately? And what’s the opposite space calling you to explore?
Latent learning is a psychological scientific fact - a break after intense study is more beneficial than continued work/study. Men rest from one activity with another (Zen saying)
There is also something about the act of passing through the liminal spaces on your way to spend time between different modes. A tempering process maybe?