A Flame That Does Not Flicker

Imagine a candle flame so stable that in watching it seems to hardly move at all. It is there, almost appearing as a solid thing. Let's take it further. This candle burns with a fire does not shift. If the air around it is disturbed. It is there, consistent and dependable. It  burns clean, with no residue. 

This flame burns within us, existing with no fear of change or  death. It is deeply recessed part of all of us. This fire is an active experience of equanimity. All things are equal to it. It loves you regardless of you being the thief or the judge passing sentence.. thief, or the judge that passes down a sentence. It is tranquility, with no fear of what direction things may go.

It has no agenda. There is something in us that is terrified of the fact that we can learn to be at peace. Whether it be racism or any other sort of bias, part of why we are so intense is because we want to convince ourselves that we could not learn to accept what is feels unacceptable. However, it is true. Even you can learn to be at peace.

The flame of awareness lights our way.  Part of us would hide from our ability to live in tranquility. In equanimity we experience a shift in what we value. There is some part of us that would not have this reordering take place. In shifting what we value we must give up control. However, it ends up being funny. The joke is the self that thinks it needs to be in control is just a figment of our own imagination. There was no self to have ever been in control at all. The flame of the candle burns steady because it is never in danger of blowing out.