Effort

"It's so hard to stay present. This spiritual stuff can be hard work."

What if being present (or even waking up, embodying your true nature, enlightenment, and all that other fancy stuff) was just as simple as say suddenly noticing the sensation of your tongue in your mouth, the feeling of your feet on the floor, or the sound of rain on the roof? What if it took no more time, effort, understanding, or practice than that and what if it was just that ordinary?
 
 
 
What if instead we had to use all of our will, energy, effort, determination, intellect, imagination, and time just to maintain the ego, an identity for ourselves, or the belief that "I" am the one in the story? What if we had to pour all of our thought, attention, desire and intent into this continuous effort just in order to stay 'endarkened'?
 
 
 
In other words what if waking up started looking a lot less like something one does and a lot more like just giving it a rest!?
 
 
 
Hmmm... :) 
 
 
 
 
 
-"Hey mister, why are you banging your head against that tree"?
 
-"Because it feels so good when I stop"!