Good morning Roy, good morning Joseth

   Roy, a wise man always states the obvious. One man turns to the other and says, boy I’m sure getting wet, the other says you’re not wearing a raincoat. That’s obvious, observable, and is understandable by both parties. One turns to the other and says, I sure am full, the other replies that’s because you ate everything on the table. That’s the obvious and both understand the reply.

   Roy during a recent visit to a psychic fair a young lady tried to solicit you and charm you into paying $45.00 to listen to her. She commented that you looked like a wise man, and she asked you to say something wise. At the moment her cell phone rang, your response to her question was, answer your phone. She did, and then walked away from you. You gave her the wisdom of the moment. Wisdom is a statement of something that is obvious and appropriate in the moment. Good wisdom should be obvious to the one seeking it.

   My favorite Buddha story is the one about the man who was seeking wisdom. He had traveled around the world looking for it. He finally ended up tired and battered from the long arduous walk to the home of the great Buddha. The Buddha welcomed him into his home, and they sat at his table. The Buddha asked him what was it that he was seeking. The man answered "wisdom". The Buddha asked the man if he would like a cup of tea. The man answered that he would. As the Buddha began to pour the tea into the cup it began to run down the sides of the cups as it overflowed. The man noticed this and remarked to the Buddha that his cup was overflowing. This the Buddha said, is the wisdom that you seek. The wisdom of the Buddha was obvious to both and was given in the moment of enlightenment. Like all wisdom it was simple and profound. In it’s simplicity it is often well hidden, and the man could not see it.

   When you look for wisdom you will not find it. When you let wisdom come to you, you will know it simply by looking at it. When you become the silent observer you will still your mind and the wisdom will become obvious to you. If you are in the process of finding, you will never find. It’s only at the moment that you stop looking that you find the obvious. If you constantly cross the street in the middle of the road and get your foot run over each time. It is obvious that you are doing something that does not work for you. The wisdom in the moment is obvious as well. Do not put your foot where it can be run over. Wisdom does not come from magic or age. Small children hold much wisdom. They figure out very quickly what works and what doesn’t work for them. They spend little time dwelling on the things that do not get them what they want. This wisdom comes simply from the obvious. Do not spend your time trying to turn lead into gold. Be obvious, be as a child, when it wants attention it cries. He always gets attention, because it works.

   If I spend my time at the horse races and loose my money, my family, my job and self respect, is that bad luck, or is it because I spend my time at the horse races. If I am always late for work even though I take the same way to work everyday. Where is the wisdom here? Great wisdom comes from simply noticing what works and what doesn’t work for you. If you life is not working for you, the answer lies in the way you are living your life, it is not external. Simply look at your life. Decide what it is that you desire, eliminate all the things in your life that doesn’t take you there. Eliminate the obvious to reveal the wisdom.

   The wisdom of the Buddha was that in order to fill your cup, you must first make sure it is empty. Simple, profound and obvious.

   Sometimes good answers come from listening to the question. For example, I am playing darts, my score keeper is standing two feet to the right of my target. I keep hitting her with my darts, she is getting angry. I don’t want to hit her any longer because it is causing trouble in our relationship. What am I to do. There are many answers to this question. But there is only one obvious answer that is guaranteed to work and it is obvious. The important part here is not to go off and try to fix the situation, but simply notice the wisdom. I did not say that I wanted to continue playing darts. I said that I did not want to hit my partner with my darts anymore. The most obvious thing then would be to stop throwing darts. That is simple, profound and obvious. So the solution was not in continuing to play darts and figure out how to avoid hitting her. I simple did not want to hit her any longer. When given questions, we must listen to the obvious, without trying to figure anything out. The obvious always stands out and makes itself known, that is why it is obvious. One who states the obvious, is never in error.