Rebuilding
Lasting Value
Rounding a sharp turn on an icy road at
dusk last winter I suddenly came upon a large bull elk, standing motionless in
the middle of the road. The very large animal straddled the entire highway.
There was not enough room to drive around it. I had a split second to decide
what to do.
As soon as I discovered I would not be
able to stop in time due to lack of traction on the icy road, without thought
or hesitation—both luxuries the moment would not allow—I pressed hard and
continuously on the horn.
Something told me this magnificent
animal could and would react in time to this warning blast, and that it would
not freeze in terror as deer are apt to do. Mentally, I projected the thought,
“Oh great one, your life and mine are in grave danger. Remove yourself
IMMEDIATELY to avoid harm to us both.” I felt my spirit connect with this
animal’s spirit. I sensed he saw me and understood my warning.
Immediately, I felt the immense power
of this huge animal explode into life. Summoning all his strength, he made what
must have been 1 ton of body mass overcome inertia and, with one dramatic
bound, leap to safety on the hillside beyond the road, a distance of around 20
feet. Looking back as if to thank me for warning him, he
disappeared into the forest as my car hurtled past, both of us safe and
unscathed.
I had experienced a mystical moment of
unity with another intelligent creature that was completely capable of
self-preservation. I felt a deep respect for that life, and a desire to avoid
harming that being. Was this non-accident itself an “accident” or was an
accident avoided because of my diet and lifestyle? I feel the ability to avoid
accidents can and does depend on how integrated we are spiritually with the
universe of which we are part. And that can depend on how well we are eating
and drinking, and how well our lifestyles mesh with the order of the universe.
Modern thinking would have us believe
that accidents are purely mechanical affairs that follow predictable laws
involving inertia and momentum. Striking an animal that attempts to cross the
road while we are driving down the road is considered an unfortunate and
unavoidable accident.
Yet achieving the ability to avoid harm
by being one with the universe is a goal of all Oriental martial arts. The
greatest masters are those who become part of the flow of life, and move in
harmony with this flow.
Sensei Morihei
Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, used to demonstrate
how he could avoid getting shot by people who were told to try to shoot him. Sensei
Ueshiba, anticipating the shooters’ intentions, would
avoid the bullets fired at him, approach the shooter, and disarm him without
injury.
One winter day some years ago a friend
offered me a ride the next morning to an appointment 30 miles from my home. I
accepted the offer gratefully.
That evening, as I tried to get some
rest, a nagging ominous feeling of danger hung in the air. Whenever I tried to
lay down to rest I had the distinct feeling that if I went to sleep I would be
laying down in my grave.
The feeling was so overwhelming that I
finally left the house and got out on the road to hitchhike to my destination
at around 10 PM, something I would not attempt normally at that time of night,
especially in the middle of the winter.
As soon as I had left the house the
feeling of dread left me. As I stood and started thumbing a ride the feeling of
doom subsided even further. By the time I had reached a friend’s house in the
neighboring town, I felt totally safe and had a deep feeling I had done the right
thing.
The next day when I returned home I ran
into the friend who had offered to give me a ride. She recounted how lucky I
was to not have been in the car with her. When I asked why, she pointed to a
wrecked car nearby that I then recognized was the car I would have been riding
in. When I looked at the passenger’s seat area where I would have been riding,
I noticed the frame had completely collapsed into the area where I would have
been riding.
My friend recounted how she had been
driving in a snowstorm with very limited visibility. All of the sudden she was
able to see a van in the middle of the road, waiting to make a left-hand turn
off the highway. My friend attempted to avoid the van by sharply swerving to
the left. However, all the maneuver accomplished was
to change the point of impact from the front to the passenger’s side.
Michio Kushi
told me about a macrobiotic young man who was traveling on a train in
In today’s world very few people can
understand the importance of achieving unity with the order of the universe or
entertain the notion that such a condition even exists or can be achieved. With
macrobiotics, as with martial arts, this is a goal. True health, true
happiness, and true peace are based on achieving this state of being.
Learning to “live within our
limitations” was a favorite phrase of Herman Aihara.
Wisdom to a fool appears to be foolishness. Foolishness to a wise man appears
to be folly. Who is correct, the wise man or the fool? The fool is convinced
the only way to achieve wisdom is through trial and error. Hopefully, we can
become wise before doing serious injury to ourselves and/or others.
The way of the wise man is cautious and
respects the order of the universe. To the fool, there is no order of the
universe. To the fool, one should simply strive to enjoy oneself as often and
as much as possible, doing whatever strikes one’s fancy. Curiously, to the fool
this way resembles the way of a free man as Ohsawa
describes it: to do whatever he (or she) wants from morning to night.
To me one reason we study macrobiotics
is because we have realized after a number of tragedies, misfortunes, and
illnesses that our judgment is so flawed that we are in grave danger of harming
ourselves irreparably, or even of causing our own demise. In other words, we
have decided that we need help. We start seeking answers, hoping that even with
our limited and flawed judgment we can discern what will help us and what will
not.
Why for some people is
life a series of “accidents,” while for others it is a relatively accident-free
experience? Judgment! Judgment—the intangible mental, emotional, spiritual
process by which we decide what is right and what is not; the ability to
discern what will lead to tragedy and what will lead to happiness; the
instinctive ability to avoid undue hardship and remove oneself from
uncontrollably risky situations.
A wise person listens and learns from
his teachers and the wisdom of the ages. A foolish person thinks he or she
knows what is best in each situation. Yes, we must learn to think for and by
ourselves, but at the same time listen and learn from those who have gone
before us. Such a respect for teachers and traditional values is the
cornerstone of a peaceful and well-functioning society. A society directed by
the sensorial and sentimental directives dictated by the foolish is doomed to
collapse in its own folly, and to commit unspeakable horrors along the way.
It is up to each of us to be willing to
listen to the wisdom of our teachers with respect and consideration, and to
honor and learn from them. It is the responsibility of teachers to be good role
models—examples of moderation, wisdom, balance, patience, modesty, respectfulness,
thoughtfulness, diligence, courage, determination, kindness, consideration, and
most importantly, all-embracing love.
We cannot know a world of decency until
we incorporate these values into our everyday world. It all boils down to this:
to do unto others what we would have them do unto us, and to love and
appreciate others as we would like to be loved and appreciated.
Striving to live by these core values
will change the world. When
we restore within ourselves an appreciation for human dignity and the value of
life, we can then begin to help others restore it within their lives. That is
the way we rebuild a world of shattered dreams and broken promises into a world
of lasting value.
--Fred Pulver
1-21-08