The Seven Date Seeds - Fifth seed - Feeling — YouTube from the CEC Library

The seven date seeds. The fifth seed is feeling. I learned many things through example, and I consider that essential. Often, it is not a word that transforms our life; hearing something repeatedly is not enough. However, an example of behavior can truly affect our existence. There are various paths, and I believe the universe is so vast that being certain of something means venturing into the unknown. We have a sense of what we are doing here, but the fifth seed—feeling—is a wonderful space in life.

Feeling is the expression of continuity. Everything in the universe is sustained by this magical force. When we do something with feeling, we do it with the soul, the essence of what we are. The result is so good that it is difficult to understand how we manage to accomplish such beautiful things. Because of what we learned from the environment in which we were raised, our life is full of euphorias and celebrations. We always seek festivities to relieve tension, but we have not learned that we can be happy at every moment without depending on emotional variations to confirm our existence.

Feeling connects us with reality, makes us pure and true, and causes us to live intensely. Everything done with feeling is better. I watched a weaver working with dedication; his concentration separated him from the world around him. He wove the rug with skill and pleasure, not in ecstasy, but with so much feeling that it overflowed to those watching him. I asked whether he liked the work, and without stopping, he nodded affirmatively.

Impressed by his concentration, I pressed him: "What makes you enjoy your work so much?" He replied that he had learned from his father and that when he finished a rug, it was already sold. He put feeling into what he did, with absolute attention and intense pleasure. His motivation was infinite, because the work was necessary and important to him and to whoever bought it. He put all his energy into it, perceiving how greatly life is underestimated. We enter life with nothing and leave without taking anything. Therefore, it is wise to live with what is necessary, so as not to suffer from emotional losses.

We come with everything we need, but we never notice, much less give thanks. We do not need to thank someone, but life, for the opportunity to learn with a physical body. The moment of work is magnificent; the rest is daydreams created because we do not understand the meaning of life. Feel each moment. If you get tired, it is because you are not putting feeling into practice, since no one grows tired of the constant pleasure of the here and now.

I never forgot this weaver, Ahmed Marback. He taught me the fifth date seed: feeling. We need to learn that emotion is fleeting, but it is what we cultivate most. We want emotion in everything. I remember once going to a store where the salesperson, very effusive, spoke highly of the product. Perhaps he had noticed that I was not reacting, and he said that life needs emotion. I replied that perhaps he was right, but perhaps I was also right in believing that life needs feeling. We relate to one another through feeling, but we become involved through emotion. This is the fifth date seed.