The Most Immediate Priority

It is the most immediate priority

Not by way of imposition

Or force.

 

It is the most immediate priority

Not by way of recommendation

Or suggestion.

 

It is the most immediate priority

Because of the knife at the neck

That is man’s daily experience.

 

It is the most immediate priority

Because it is what man suffers from

Each moment of his life.

 

It is not theoretical.

It is not in the future.

It is what is here.

And what has never gone away.

 

It is the most immediate priority

To become free from the mind.

To achieve liberation.

 

Not in any fantastical

Or romantic

Or spiritual

Or new-age vein . . .

 

But by way of raw practicality.

 

Because the suffering is immediate,

And the anxiety is immediate,

And the chaos is immediate . . .

The priority is immediate.

 

There is nothing else

That is of any priority

In any man’s life.

 

All other things

Are part-time dealings.

Regardless of what they have been built up to be.

 

It is not a far-reaching notion

To address the immediacy of one’s suffering.

 

It is a far-reaching notion

To do anything else.

 

A man’s stature in society,

His wealth,

His plans,

His responsibilities . . .

While they may be tended to

Like a boiling pot on the stove,

They are but of little import

As compared to the guillotine at his neck.

 

Spirituality

Is a luxury.

 

Self-help

Is for those who have time to waste.

 

Such things

Are the dabbing of blood

With a medicated cotton ball.

Whilst the guillotine

Maintains its pressure upon the carotid.

 

It is hardly a matter of motivation.

For no motivation is required

To retract one’s hand

From a hot stove.

 

It is a matter of necessity

To which the man’s own life

Stands as an incontrovertible testament.

 

Man is taught to chase goodness

And altruism.

 

He is taught to flee

In various clever ways

The causes of his suffering

And the source of his turmoil.

 

Because he has been conditioned to wander,

He has adopted the habit of . . .

Waiting.

 

It is not that it must be done Now.

It is not that Today is the only day.

It is not that he should not wait any longer . . .

 

It is that . . .

He tends not to realize this.

 

Because he has lived for so long

A life of extravagant and clever . . .

Avoidance.

 

Namaste.