on finding Meaning in living … (08/09/09)
Ahhh yes — the tried and tested methods (tried and tested, by the way, by hundreds of people over several thousands of years) to finding Meaning in our lives all hinge on our courage to pause in any given instant and choose differently; either “passively” — by choosing a different mindset from the one that is causing us pain, or actively — by going forth into our lives and choosing a different set of activities than those causing that discomfort.
Because it is more difficult, the active alternative tends to bring us a much deeper sense of Peace than the relatively “passive” one (though consciously choosing to sit and be intensely & consciously grateful for life in those moments when we are depressed is no easy task either) …
Fortunately, while radically altering our daily routines and/or our activities and/or even our jobs is the most effective way to do this, it is not necessary to radically alter your life to know this Truth. It is enough to either do the same activities as before with a different underlying intention (i.e. go to work not to “make ends meet” but rather to enable your ability to give to others), or do the same activities as before and — during our “free time” — add selfless activities to your day (i.e. volunteering on a regular basis) …
Admittedly, it is quite difficult to go back to a job (or a relationship, or an activity) that is causing us stress and do so with a new mentality about it. For this reason, I personally chose to “attack” this problem in a manner two-fold: first, I made sure to pause every hour on the hour for 30 seconds in order to close my eyes and evince a heart-felt blast of Gratitude to God/the Universe for my life — and second, I set out in my “free time” every day to do at least one kind, selfless Good Deed for another. This could be picking up garbage on the street, smiling at strangers, sitting down for five minutes to speak with a homeless person, or anything else along similar lines. I came to learn that, while worthwhile, it is not necessary to work in a soup kitchen or lead a civil rights march to Selma to find Contentment in this life! Just set forth every day and Do what good there is to be done …
That’s it — It was (and is) that simple …
Of course, hearing these principles (and even believing them) is fine, but no benefit will come to us unless we go forth and do the actual Work to set them in motion …
Have fun with that!
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