We wandered in the shady quiet of the cellar. Rows of candlelit wooden barrels rose up on either side of us. Grape juice, turning itself into wine. Turning into itself.
I sipped my dolcetto among heavy-hanging, purple-blushing grapes. “It's sweet,” he said, tasting the burst of juice in his mouth. Let it be sweet, I thought. I who had insisted, untasted, that it would be sour.
Life grows organically. First comes seeds, shoots, stems. Then comes fruit. You can't skip steps. Expecting sudden unfounded grapes sets us up for disappointment and harm.
Only God can make a tree. And the best way we can play God is to create conditions supportive to growth. Clear listening focus encourages evolution.
Heavy-hung vines all around, and my half-full glass glinting like a sun-warmed ruby in front of me, I suddenly noticed something about my recent painful experience absorbing the sweet energy of the moon. I noticed that it hadn't happened all at once!
Evolution is always happening, whether we notice it or not. But recognition speeds it up.
I spent a long time beating myself up for being, in my way of thinking, spiritually insufficiently evolved. I recognized that I had a very active, doing-based approach to handling life, and I was surrounded by misleading words telling me that doing was bad, and that I should never do again, and that nondoing was the only Right Path.
A lot gets lost in translation. Words get in the way. Particularly with philosophy texts.
Finally I realized that recognition was far more valuable than condemnation. Perhaps I could acknowledge that I was a Doer, instead of castigating myself for it. “I am a Doer,” I told myself. “You are a Doer,” I told myself. “That's right!” I told myself. “You were clearly listening!” I told myself.
And suddenly...it wasn't a problem any more! I Do, that's what Jordanas do, that's how you know you're dealing with a Jordana and not a Someone Else. Doing is my Nature. Not to Do would be to run counter to my Nature, which would be exactly the kind of effort we're really
talking about when we tell people not to Do. That's the kind of Doing that we're trying to avoid.
So, if you're a Jordana, the best way to Nondo is to...Do More! Action so perfect it transmutes into stillness. Nondoing, not as absence, but as total presence.
I realized that that wild elixir I'd been absorbing from the moon wasn't celestial honey after all. Honey doesn't evolve. What I'd drunk was moon wine, sweeter than the honey.
Moon wine needs time in the barrel to bring out notes lying latent in the verjus.
Moon wine is deep, rich, mysterious, profound, intense, and piquant. Pour it silver and claret into your crystal goblet or your cupped hands, drink it, and become yourself.
Moon wine is you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lFxGBB4UGU