Lost in Translation

by Dan Franklin, MFT
Associate Director

Something is always lost in the translation of the events, circumstances and people in our lives. That is to say, why do we not choose to live in real time, moment by moment, fully engaged and without attachment as the Buddha and others have preached for centuries?

Thought forms seem to have something different in mind. Yes, Mind….the ego-mind to be more precise. It loves to translate, interpret, analyze, speculate, postulate, guess, infer, prefer, judge, condemn, exaggerate and on and on. Are our thoughts or even our feelings who we really are? Is my body-mind the bottom line or perhaps the mere conduit for the expression of Spirit in form? Is this animating Spirit my true nature, the body-mind the vehicle but not really the driver?

What drives life? Who or what’s behind the wheel, watching and observing, turning, changing direction, speeding up and slowing down. What is this force that we all sense inside of us? And how regularly do we deny or forget its holy presence? Many call it God but it is called by many names.

In the end, isn’t existence it’s own reward? What exactly are we attempting to control with the use of our minds. Life becomes about hopes and dreams, and plans and successes and disappointments, impressions and projections. How much do we really live in touch with the moment, each moment its own reward?

Or do we compulsively, habitually translate everything. It’s good, it’s bad, it’s a problem, it could be a problem, it was a problem, it might be again, I love you, I hate you, you don’t care, I’m better than you, I’m superior to him. I’m a failure, I’m on top of the world, I’m screwed, just got lucky, she doesn’t deserve it, will he ever change, why did I have to go through that.

And we wonder why we get depressed, anxious, angry and nervous. We never stop scanning for answers, conclusions, perspectives and control. We never stop thinking, emoting, caught up in one drama after another.

I believe there is a relationship between Realization and Relaxation. If our minds are frantically trying to figure out life and our margins of safety within the experience, why wouldn’t we be nervous wrecks?

Relaxed Attention is a whole different ballgame from constant, compulsive thinking. It’s about seeing, watching, observing, investigating, all without judgments or agenda. It’s a way of accepting life on its own terms and knowing we are that which is occurring. All the translation comes after. It’s incidental, secondary. Not primary.

We are that which lives. And that can go all kinds of ways! It’s never been a smooth ride. I believe that experiencing the driver and the vehicle is what makes the journey so delicious and fascinating.

What if we learned to live life without all the translation? Who knows what it all means. What if we lost the translation? What if we lost ideas of being victims, guilt-ridden tortured souls? What if we lost the need or desire to control other people or submit to their whims? What if we felt the joy of mere being deep within our core and lived with gratitude and a sense of humor rather than resentments, regrets and embarrassment.

Notice the next time you translate anything, notice what happens. Does it take you deeply into the moment , into the richness of the experience or does it take you away from it, somewhere long ago and far away from the immediacy of the experience. Can we simply learn to drop the mind-bending, twisting each moment into something else and “let it be”.

I, for one, am becoming less interested in the history of me as time goes on. I recently heard it said that the Greeks didn’t believe in eulogies. They just asked the question… “Did he or she live with passion?” It would please me if upon my earthly demise, someone spoke for me in saying “ he was fully engaged and non-attached until his last breath.”

I can’t even explain my life to me, let alone anyone else. I’m not too interested in trying anymore. When I’m not relaxed and need to justify my existence, I try anyway. I translate. I’m trying to break that nasty little habit. All that’s at stake…. is our Enlightenment.

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I’m conducting a workshop on Integral Life Practice scheduled for this coming February. Call the Men’s Center message center at 818-348-9302 and leave a message if you are interested or contact me at Danfranklinmft2@aol.com for further details.