Nicely put Kyonin, thank you. Also, I have to add a little example to this reference to running and your quote "Be ready for everything, but expect nothing". Yesterday I ran in a 10k mountain race and I had in my mind what I wanted to achieve in this race ... but little did I know how it would end up to be. At sign in I ran (no pun intended
) a good friend of mine that I had not seen in awhile and she too was running in the race, so we decided we would run together. Well, it turns out she really struggled and suffered through the race, but for some reason my whole goal of what I wanted for that race changed ... just like that and I stayed with her, running, walking, stopping, etc.
In the end we finished the race in last place, but it was amazing to see people cheering and supporting each other. I could feel that this was not about getting the best time, being the fastest, better than anyone else, or being first or last. It was about sharing and supporting each other ... experiencing the beauty of nature, together ... being a part of something, together ... about being ready for what ever may come, together. This practice of just being, just doing ... being prepared, yet have no expectation of result. Wonderful.
Gassho
Michael