No Need to Get Rid of Confusion

It was the spring of the 12th year of training at the Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth. One evening in the upper zendo after dharma discussion, Soryu asked me, as head monk, how the group was doing. Struggling with a pattern of confusion, I thought I was unable to answer the question in a clear, straightforward way.
After some back and forth, Soryu said, “You should worry less about this experience of confusion that you have. And more about doing what needs to be done here and now.”
I said, “How can I do that when I’m confused?”
He said, “Just don’t worry about it. Just do the right thing now. You keep on looking in the confusion for the answer. But if you look away from the confusion, it’s not there.”
I doubted this. He said, “ It’s true.”
He continued by referring to the night sky outside. “When looking for the moon, there can be a lot of confusion. It doesn’t matter. It’s okay. The moon is still there. Sometimes it’s just going to be harder to find it. Maybe it’s cloudy or a new moon or something else. Okay. Fine. But if you look in your confusion for the moon, you’ll never find it.”
And, he said, “I think you’re still trying to get rid of the confusion. What if you don’t need to get rid of it? You just go past it. You just transform and then go through.”