“Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own good.” – Pablo Casals
Each person is composed of a human shell – a mind, heart and body – which surrounds and is designed to be permeated by the being at his core. That being, or soul as it is commonly referred to, is perfect.
If, in the living of life, your attention is consumed by the outer details of circumstance, you will forever be putting out fires and being led around by that which is outside of you. If, on the other hand, you make the space to listen to and build up the courage to act on the goodness which is present within you always, you will begin to extend control from a balanced place where you were previously controlled by the capricious details of outer circumstance.
Your soul, your being, does not need to learn; it is already perfect. The learning required is strictly a matter of training your “human” capacities of body, mind and heart to accommodate the expression of the decency and goodness – the light – within you.
I agree with Sr. Casal’s assertion that it isn’t complicated, but it does require courage. It takes courage to focus attention in places that have long been ignored by practical men who have convinced themselves that they must vanquish the devil in the details in human strength.
Never wrestle with or react to the devil in the details. Look instead to bring the light of understanding to bear on the details from within outward. In so doing you will find that you treat even the most tense and convoluted circumstances you face with grace and ease.
Whenever you are anxious, stressed or reactive, you have stopped listening to and or acting on the goodness and decency within you. It is that simple: unnatural tension results whenever attention is misplaced.
Gregory Hake 
This is a wonderful reminder of how important it is to live from the inside out. Coming from the place of “goodness and decency,” is such a key.
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What we give our attention to grows.
Redirecting our attention from moment to moment, turning our back deliberately on the “devil in the details” provides a heightened perspective, from which trust and belief emerge, supporting and expanding the new direction….within.
Thanks for redirecting my attention!
Greatly appreciate the simplicity of this Truth,
Time to let it be!
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It is simple but it’s usually seen as not easy. I find that starting and ending my day with reminders of the truth of the matter keeps me on my toes. It’s easier to be swayed to believe that we are all here struggling and have to watch out for ourselves if we don’t deliberately seek out the truth. I believe that much of how our life plays out is shaped by the habits we create. This is one habit that many others will stem from. Wonderful post, thank you!
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I can see why this would be so, as when I am anxious or stressed I turn into a myopic chihuahua. But, when I take a moment, breathe and listen, a whole new perspective appears which sees the crazy dog for what it is and what is important (or not) in the situation.
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I find that once you really internalize this knowledge after it has worked in a real life circumstance, you can begin to really see tension as the canary in the coal mine, indicating that you might be doing something wrong. While all tension is not self-inflicted, it becomes a warning light that you need to be extra conscientious in letting your inner self control your outer actions, and not reacting to the intense circumstance.
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