There aren’t many things we can say we know for sure, but we can know what’s true for us. I am lucky enough to have two of those things in my life, meditation and writing. What I know for sure is that when I sit to meditate or write I’m not wasting my time. I’m doing something that expands and nourishes my soul, that makes me feel more like myself. How often do we get to say that about anything? Then the rest of my life is play. I include work in my playtime because in the workplace, surrounded by all kinds of different personalities, I get to practice. I practice being who I am on the inside when I sit to meditate or write out there in my daily world. I am also lucky enough to work with a lot of cool people in a place where I feel nourished, which makes a huge difference, but trust me I’ve been working on that too. Our life, the way we live it, and who we let into it, is the training ground, it’s our daily practice where the rubber hits the road. Can we translate the person we are when we are quiet and introspective into the chaos of everyday life? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, but everyday we get another chance at it.
What it’s really about is faithfully living our own story. Jung asked, what is the myth you are living, because when we answer that question it tells us all we need to know about what matters to us and how we deal with the situations life presents. We love telling our stories because in the telling we can see the deeper truths of our self and the unlikely connections that ask to be made. We all have something unique to share, but often we don’t offer it up because we don’t see the deeper ramifications unfolding all around us. It’s a fascinating fact that all of us go through the exact same trials just under different circumstances and with our varied interpretations. An unexpected camaraderie forms by sharing our stories and discovering our similarities. Maybe that’s part of the reason writing is so important to me, it helps me see where I am the same as others, where I am different, and helps me make greater sense of my life.
I know that when I get to the end of my life I want to have lived it, not coasted through it, not regretting missed opportunities, or derailed by what other’s wanted. I want to have loved and been loved, and spent my time doing the things that mattered to me, the things that allowed me to grow more into my self and soul. I want to have lived engaged with the deepest questions and been courageous enough to live the answers to those questions as fully as possible, in deeper connection and communion with the mysteries of life. I want to get to the end of my life feeling that I helped others, inspired others, and made a difference no matter how small.
These are the very things I get to work towards everyday by going inwards. I meditate and I write. I dive deep and come back up to make more sense of what life has to offer. These are two things that for me are never a waste of time. This is what I know for sure.
What do you know for sure?
kb
