I Have Arrived

As surely as I was born, I am here now.

Just as life’s goal for me then was to arrive, it is such now.

And just as the goal of that arrival was to live, it is such now.

And just as the goal of birth was to arrive at death, it is such now, too.

And thus, life’s goal is to be born, to live, and to perish.

The commonality among these is that the goal is to arrive.

One arrives at birth, here where one was before not here.

One arrives at life, present at a moment that was before not here.

One arrives at death, to life after life, to what was before not here.

But how can we arrive at the here and now, when perpetually reminded of all we lack?

How can we arrive when we anticipate where we will be, at every turn?

How can we arrive when we see some things as good and others as bad, and tend to aim for more of the good and less of the bad, perpetually.

How can we arrive when arrival is seen as no better than any other thing?

Let’s speak of the paths that lead away from arrival, of which there are many:

It is the idea of not having what someone else has. Then you are wishing and striving, and you have not arrived.

It is the idea that you need to get somewhere by doing something. Then you are living a life of doing that leads to more doing, and you have not arrived.

It is the idea that you must do one more thing, and then you will be done. Then you are doing one more thing, which leads to doing one more thing, and you have not arrived.

It is the idea that a good person must do this or that, or have this or that. Then you have created a formula for living that has no end, and you have not arrived.

It is the idea that you are the one who knows the right way to tell others and lead them to something. Then you presume to be a chosen one, and without you, the people will not know what to do, and you have not arrived.

It is the idea that you must produce a certain amount to be worthy. Then, there will always be more to produce, or an unexpected problem or illness will make you feel worthless, and you have not arrived.

It is the idea that to fill your mind with certain ideas is a worthy path. Then, there will always be newer, more precise ideas to learn, making your old ones unworthy, and you have not arrived.

You may wonder, is there really a way to arrive?

That, I do not know.

I have not arrived, and I do not know who has. It may be your neighbor, schoolteacher, priest, or scholar, or it may be none.

But the paths outlined before us in this life do not lead us to arrive. The paths made available to us were created by those who never arrived. This is something to consider.

There never was a path to arrive at anything, not one that we were consciously going to locate and set out on, anyway.

In striving for anything, this is an acknowledgment that we have not arrived and probably never will. To strive is to aim to be where you are not, which shows you have not arrived.

To arrive would mean to have let go of the need to grasp or let go.

It would mean to let go of the need to advance or retreat.

It would mean to let go of the need to help or hinder.

It would mean to let go of the need to participate or spectate.

It would mean letting go of the need to create or preserve an image of yourself or the desire to abandon it.

It would mean to let go of the need for praise and be unconcerned with criticism.

It would mean to let go of the need for success and be unconcerned with failure.

To arrive would likely mean to find it in you not to be concerned with the idea of arrival, as it is just another idea. In striving for arrival, like anything else, you would just be proving the fact that you had not arrived.

Say to yourself, “I have arrived,” and see that you do not believe it and that it has not happened.

Or say to yourself, “I have arrived,” and see that you do believe it and that it has happened.

And upon arrival, if you see this as an accomplishment, you can see that you have not arrived. You will feel the need to meet that accomplishment, again and again, proving that you have not arrived. To pursue something is to prove that you do not have it.

I

HAVE

ARRIVED