Enlightenment’s a great thing of course. It’s a very great thing indeed. It’s a great thing needless to say and we all know that. No doubt about that, no doubt about that at all. Truly it’s a very great thing – as we all know. Not all of us are destined to be enlightened in this lifetime – needless to say – but that’s just the way it is. That can’t be helped. That’s just the way things go. That doesn’t mean that we can’t give it our best shot though! Keeping up with the jolly old meditation practice, doing a bit of yoga here and there, signing up to a few online spiritual seminars and all that kind of stuff. Doing a bit of the old mindful walking when you can remember. It all helps, you know. Doing a bit here and there. Tipping away at it. Trying not to be discouraged. Keeping your spirits up. Not falling into the old bad ways. Not falling into distraction and all that rubbish. Not being a lazy slob. Enlightenment is not always what you expect it to be either – no sir it isn’t. You think it’s going to be one thing and it turns out to be another. It blindsides you – ‘I didn’t see that coming,’ says you. Boy oh boy oh boy. No sir, you surely didn’t see that coming. Bit of an old curve-ball, you might say. Catching you unawares, kind of. It’s no good planning for it either, so it isn’t. You just can’t do that. Enlightenment is a funny old thing for sure. It’s important not to be distracting yourself with the thinking mind, that’s the thing to remember. We all love talking shyte to ourselves in our own heads of course. There’s no use in denying it! The bloody old thinking process – thinking about this, thinking about that, thinking about the other. Going over and over it in your mind. Getting excited about nonsense. That’s the kind of crappy stuff that makes sure you never get enlightened. Discursive mental activity – that’s the killer! We’re all bastards for that, I’m afraid. We are addicted to it, not to beat about the bush too much. We’re yapping like maniacs in the privacy of our own skulls and that’s not helping our case any. So as you can see there are lots of problems there to be sorted out. That’s the name of the game however – that’s what it’s all about. Getting rid of the distracting thoughts, getting rid of the delusions. Getting rid of all those delusions. They’re everywhere, needless to say. That’s the force of samsara and you’ve got to be on the lookout for it. That’s very important you see. Looking out for the jolly old samsaric delusions. Looking out for the illusory self and all its perennial grasping. The way it keeps trying to grab hold of everything for itself. That’s what it’s all about – not identifying with the illusory self. Not falling into the trap. We all know that of course. That’s the name of the game isn’t it? Not establishing an illusory or samsaric identity. It’s all very tricky stuff and it’s easy to get put off. It’s certainly not easy and that’s for sure. Damn right it isn’t…