"As the shadow follows the body, as we think we become."

There are issues raised by this quote. One issue is whether we want our shadow to follow our body; alas we have no choice. But I'd like to be on record as saying I'd prefer a slimmer shadow - which is, I suppose, one of the reasons I try to walk the beach at least once each day.

In the Dhammapada, the collected teachings of the Buddha, the scribes wrote: "The thought manifests the word; the word manifests the deed; the deed develops into habit; and habit hardens into character. As the shadow follows the body, as we think we become."

As I stroll the beach it's hard for me not to see my shadow and it causes me to I recall these words: As the shadow follows the body, as we think we become."

As we think, we become.

That's pretty scary when I think about my thinking.

I think about how I dislike certain people. I think about how unfair the world is. I think about people that have cheated me and now they have more money, bigger houses, better cars. I think about the stupidity that now passes for corporate behaviour. I think about hypocritical politicians. I think about the  imposition that terrorists now impose on me and my life. I think about future difficulties - even though they may never materialise.

I think about bad stuff. Stuff that makes me angry, resentful, frustrated and bitter. And this will become, or worse may have already become, my character.

Imagine if I spent more time thinking about good stuff. The warm breeze on the beach. Being on a beautiful beach. My eyesight which still allows me to enjoy the colours of my world and the words of storytellers. My hearing that still functions enough so that I can hear my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs - and all the other 'sixties' and 'seventies' music which form the soundtrack of my younger years. My sense of taste and smell that put me in touch with my chosen home. My memories to which I add great experiences daily. My vigour that powers me. 

If I spent more time thinking about good stuff - the stuff that I love, enjoy and embrace - then Buddha's teaching suggest that I will become a happier person, a more fulfilled parson, a person more in love with life - and myself. That's the character I'd rather be.

I check my shadow on the beach daily.

Have you checked yours recently?