The Virtues of the Unbeliever

[Zachary Lange]

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The Virtues of Unbelief (a partial list)

The unbeliever is alone in his experience, yet his heart is openness to what is all around.

The unbeliever has no ground to stand upon so he suspends his mind between all conclusions.

The unbeliever has no country, no religion, no ideal, no creed of living, so he lives each moment as it is.

The unbeliever sees that he does not know, so he is thankful to all that teach him.

The unbeliever does not accept what is taught as answers so he uses what he learns to ask better questions.

The unbeliever is a fool with no agenda. He has no map, no compass, nor any guiding star.

The unbeliever has no possessions, he sees everyone and everything as environment.

The unbeliever does not profess love and he makes no promises, for he is what he does.

The unbeliever makes no judgments because, though left and right are different paths, we live on a sphere.

The unbeliever has no escape, so truth is everywhere he looks.

The unbeliever has no confidence for he sees each moment as new, unknown and requiring his complete attention.

The unbeliever is unsettled yet he rests in the world's ceaseless change.

The unbeliever has nowhere to lay his head.

The unbeliever sees that nothing is "merely" this or "just" that.

The unbeliever sees what work is necessary, and by doing what is necessary, all is done well.

The unbeliever does not waste energy. His mind is single, relaxed and does not dither.

The unbeliever asks for no miracles but sees the cosmos miraculous as it is.

The unbeliever wonders that he exists, he does not wonder why he exists.

The unbeliever sees the great worth in what is, he does not strive for what should be.

The unbeliever does not try to fix the world, he loves it by paying attention to it.

The unbeliever is aware of his surroundings. He takes nothing for granted.

The unbeliever sees the ocean, the sky, the hills, the sun, the moon, the flowers, the fields and stars for he has nothing else to do.

The unbeliever has no religion in particular, he is not an atheist, he is not an idealist, he is not a trade, he is not a profession, he simply is and he does what he does with attentiveness.

The unbeliever is empty, yet passionate. His eye sees all directions, he questions his thoughts. Love happens in him but he is full of holes, so love, beauty and life pour through him and onto the world around.

The unbeliever spills everything. He is always asking himself, "What is this I am holding?" and he releases it to see if it flies. The unbeliever sees that only love flies, only goodness flies, only truth flies, so this is something he's interested in: flying.

The unbeliever loves gravity so gravity lets go of him sometimes.

Part 2

The unbeliever does not fight a war. He has no possessions or country, religion nor ideal to defend. He does only what is necessary in truth and love, seeing that war is a waste of energy and resources.

The unbeliever sees that nothing contends with truth. What is is what is. He sees that every conflict is between two misunderstandings.

The unbeliever sees that love is in attention, peace is in awareness, seeing is in stillness, thought is movement, movement is change, change is coming in and going out, birth and death.

The unbeliever sees that energy comes from rest. Energy is wasted in moving back and forth, chasing thoughts, beliefs, ideals...He let's all of these go and goes where he goes.

The unbeliever is hurt when he is hurt, sad when he is sad, and joyful when he is joyful. And in seeing what he sees and in hearing what he hears, he is acting in his actions.

The unbeliever sees that everything is necessary for him to be, that every moment is a miracle of universal convergence, that all the energy of the universe is in his cup of coffee and that what is is what he is.

The unbeliever loves his failures, for they are teachers. The unbeliever sees what is real and does not argue with it.

The unbeliever does his best when there is no reason to do so. No reward or punishment awaits. He grows naturally into himself for mystery's sake.

The unbeliever is not a salesman for he has nothing to sell. Therefore, he has no reason to lie.

Part 3

The unbeliever is not afraid, for he has embraced fear and understood it. He loves his fears and pays them close attention, holding them not for his own.

The unbeliever is glad in the insecurities of his mind so his physical world is in order.

The unbeliever embraces disorder, chaos, insecurity in his mind and, loving them, they embrace him in return, bringing balance to his outer life.

The unbeliever sees that nothing bad has ever happened to him. He sees his fate and is unmoved. He sees his fate and rests. He does what he does and what he does is necessary in truth.

The unbeliever gives attention to his relationships with others. He sees that he is reflected in the eyes of those he loves. In them he sees what is in him. So he is aware of their needs because he listens without thoughts.

The unbeliever gives attention to what is. He loves what is in everything around him. He accepts what is so the cosmos accepts him as he is. Because of this, illusions have no power in him. Therefore, he happens upon the truth.

The unbeliever looks to no one for salvation, for he does not need to escape. He is in love. Since love has no boundary, where could he be saved from? Who could save him from what is? And why would he want to escape from what is? Escape is not necessary for the unbeliever, the unbeliever sees that freedom is in his still mind. There is nowhere to go, nowhere he would escape to. This is the unbeliever's bliss...

[Gerd Ambranovic]

Great, thank you!