It's interesting being married to a happiness teacher. I get the opportunity to learn about many awareness teachers and wonderful techniques in self-discovery and living in the present moment. We are often gifted books on the latest and most cutting edge techniques of embodying the true self. Which despite the hearsay, isn't actually about, 'being happy'. It's about, accepting you as you are. And in so doing, being able to recognize the difference between the ways we experience our situation and the perception we have of it as well as the stories we tell around it. That are often times, perhaps not so beneficial.
What I mean is, there is the bodies experience of pleasure and pain, there is also the mind's experience of pleasure and pain which can be totally different. And then there is the observing self, which actually isn't affected at all. It's the witness of these events. In being the witness of these events, one doesn't have to attach so heavily to the fears that play in to the current situation and exacerbate our anxieties of the future.
It's possible to allow our bodies and our minds to experience the joys or the sufferings that they are experiencing without building stories around them. For example, if someone has a headache, and this headache lately has becoming worse and worse and coming on more frequently. The tendency may be, to become worried, "What's wrong with me? Why is this happening? It's only going to get worse, if it's this bad, what will tomorrow be like?" This is building on to the story. Instead of witnessing that the body is experiencing pain or some sensation in the head.
The latest book we were gifted is called, "The happiness trap." It's a pretty interesting read, and talks a lot about what I just mentioned above, of course mentioning tools and tricks to dissociate one's self so heavily with one's thoughts. But it asked also a very interesting question,
"If you had 1 year left to live, and if you had the complete and total love and support of everyone around you to do anything that mattered most to your heart, what would you do? How would you spend your time?"
I found this a deeply meaningful question. Currently I am in school, and it is a lot of work, but if I only had a year left of life itself. It would be difficult for me to say that I would actually stay in school. The choice seems obvious to me that I would like to spend my last year, visiting family and friends and spending time in nature.
It's common to hear these kinds of questions, what would you do with your last moments on earth, or if you could do anything with the knowledge that you could not fail, what would you do? If time and money weren't limiting factors, how would you spend your time?
It was interesting for me to play with the element of time. How would my goals change depending on the amount of time I had left on earth? As of now, I'm assuming that I will live a long and healthy life, which many people in the beginning of their journeys often also assume. I don't necessarily know it to be true. On one hand there is a lot of strength and boldness in living today as if you won't make it to tomorrow. However, if living fully today means lounging around, watching tv, or something of the sort, the decision to live like this is rather irresponsible, it's taking the path of inaction. It's giving up on life. It's a misinterpretation of what living fully today, means.
But how can I justify going back to school a 2-3 year commitment if living fully today is actually my end goal?
There is a strength in realizing the impermanence of our bodies, minds and lives; however, just because we live each day as if it were our last, in fact each moment as if it were our last, enables a few things.
1. It's impossible to contemplate the future -- because it's completely utterly out of our frame-work of reality as we know it.
2. It's completely worthless to contemplate the past -- because none of it matters or has meaning today. All that matters is the loving relationships in our lives, the relationships we have with people, animals and nature, as well as our work, our frequented places, and ourselves.
It's a tool to get us present with our lives as we know it. To not take the love in our lives for granted. To not take our experiences or goals for granted. And at the same time, not attach to the idea that we will be dead tomorrow. It may not be the case. If we could dream any dream, what would it be. What if that dream involved the next 50 years, 40 years, 20 years, 10 years. How would our direct relationship with our values and goals be shifted?
Since I consider myself at the beginning of life -- essentially, I have my whole career ahead of me. I have goals upon plans upon goals and dreams for myself. But can I not attach to them to heavily?
Can I hold them lightly in my heart and in my mind. Nothing is certain.
However can I live fully and embrace the positive in my life today as if I'd die tomorrow yet my dreams will continue for the next 1000 years. I think that's what is meant by it.
It's possible that our dreams will die with our bodies. But can we know it for certain? Just because we are dying or not dying... doesn't mean that we are any further from our dreams or the realities of them.
Today, or more specifically this moment, is the compilation of tens of millions of dreams of tens and millions of dreamers. We are living the reality of beautiful dreams from all over the world from all over the past centuries to experience every moment we have. If we have the capacity to tap into that beauty, we can appreciate today for what it really is. And we can choose to live this dream while furthering it's pursuit for those who come after us. This is the beauty of life and the beauty that connects us all.
What I mean is, there is the bodies experience of pleasure and pain, there is also the mind's experience of pleasure and pain which can be totally different. And then there is the observing self, which actually isn't affected at all. It's the witness of these events. In being the witness of these events, one doesn't have to attach so heavily to the fears that play in to the current situation and exacerbate our anxieties of the future.
It's possible to allow our bodies and our minds to experience the joys or the sufferings that they are experiencing without building stories around them. For example, if someone has a headache, and this headache lately has becoming worse and worse and coming on more frequently. The tendency may be, to become worried, "What's wrong with me? Why is this happening? It's only going to get worse, if it's this bad, what will tomorrow be like?" This is building on to the story. Instead of witnessing that the body is experiencing pain or some sensation in the head.
The latest book we were gifted is called, "The happiness trap." It's a pretty interesting read, and talks a lot about what I just mentioned above, of course mentioning tools and tricks to dissociate one's self so heavily with one's thoughts. But it asked also a very interesting question,
"If you had 1 year left to live, and if you had the complete and total love and support of everyone around you to do anything that mattered most to your heart, what would you do? How would you spend your time?"
I found this a deeply meaningful question. Currently I am in school, and it is a lot of work, but if I only had a year left of life itself. It would be difficult for me to say that I would actually stay in school. The choice seems obvious to me that I would like to spend my last year, visiting family and friends and spending time in nature.
It's common to hear these kinds of questions, what would you do with your last moments on earth, or if you could do anything with the knowledge that you could not fail, what would you do? If time and money weren't limiting factors, how would you spend your time?
It was interesting for me to play with the element of time. How would my goals change depending on the amount of time I had left on earth? As of now, I'm assuming that I will live a long and healthy life, which many people in the beginning of their journeys often also assume. I don't necessarily know it to be true. On one hand there is a lot of strength and boldness in living today as if you won't make it to tomorrow. However, if living fully today means lounging around, watching tv, or something of the sort, the decision to live like this is rather irresponsible, it's taking the path of inaction. It's giving up on life. It's a misinterpretation of what living fully today, means.
But how can I justify going back to school a 2-3 year commitment if living fully today is actually my end goal?
There is a strength in realizing the impermanence of our bodies, minds and lives; however, just because we live each day as if it were our last, in fact each moment as if it were our last, enables a few things.
1. It's impossible to contemplate the future -- because it's completely utterly out of our frame-work of reality as we know it.
2. It's completely worthless to contemplate the past -- because none of it matters or has meaning today. All that matters is the loving relationships in our lives, the relationships we have with people, animals and nature, as well as our work, our frequented places, and ourselves.
It's a tool to get us present with our lives as we know it. To not take the love in our lives for granted. To not take our experiences or goals for granted. And at the same time, not attach to the idea that we will be dead tomorrow. It may not be the case. If we could dream any dream, what would it be. What if that dream involved the next 50 years, 40 years, 20 years, 10 years. How would our direct relationship with our values and goals be shifted?
Since I consider myself at the beginning of life -- essentially, I have my whole career ahead of me. I have goals upon plans upon goals and dreams for myself. But can I not attach to them to heavily?
Can I hold them lightly in my heart and in my mind. Nothing is certain.
However can I live fully and embrace the positive in my life today as if I'd die tomorrow yet my dreams will continue for the next 1000 years. I think that's what is meant by it.
It's possible that our dreams will die with our bodies. But can we know it for certain? Just because we are dying or not dying... doesn't mean that we are any further from our dreams or the realities of them.
Today, or more specifically this moment, is the compilation of tens of millions of dreams of tens and millions of dreamers. We are living the reality of beautiful dreams from all over the world from all over the past centuries to experience every moment we have. If we have the capacity to tap into that beauty, we can appreciate today for what it really is. And we can choose to live this dream while furthering it's pursuit for those who come after us. This is the beauty of life and the beauty that connects us all.
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