Don’t waste your time trying to make meaning out of Life.
You simply can’t. Any effort in that direction will only frustrate you.
When your Life doesn’t go the way you want it
to, your mind will throw up some seemingly relevant questions that also appear
to be critical: “What’s the point in me living a Life that I don’t want?”, “Why
should I go through experiences that make me suffer?”, “What is the purpose of
Life?”. There can be more questions – it depends on how frustrated or disturbed
you are with your Life. But none of these questions will be answered by your
merely asking them. When you understand what Life is, these questions may not
even arise and even if they do, they won’t matter.
The first point to internalize is that you, me,
each of us is having a Life that we never asked for. You didn’t ask to be born,
did you? So, the argument that you don’t want to live a Life that you don’t
want is absurd. You have been created. And you must live as long as your Life
lasts. Since you did not have a say in your creation, in your birth, don’t seek
to have a say in your death. Let death happen on its own. It is inevitable as
it is – so let it come when it must. You or I need not and must not be even
thinking of death just because we don’t get some things that we want from Life.
Instead invest the time you spend brooding in living. Life has not promised you
a painless tenure on this planet. In fact, Life promises you nothing. So when
you experience pain, which is natural and likely to happen several times in
your lifetime, don’t resist it. Resisting is pointless. It is the resisting
that causes suffering. Pain is just pain. Suffering arises when you wish that
there is no pain. Drop that wish and bingo, all your suffering vanishes!
Instantaneously, just like that! So, at one level, since your birth is
choice-less and since you have no control over what happens to you in Life, it
may appear that there really is no purpose to your creation. But if you look
beyond just yourself, you will see how purposeful your Life can actually be. If
you can share what you have with people around you – with those who need your
love, your compassion, your understanding, your time, your knowledge, your
talent or perhaps your money – you can make a difference to their lives. And
that way your Life becomes useful. But even if you don’t want to touch another
Life and just want to live all by yourself, Life’s beautiful when you stop
imposing conditions on your Life and drop all expectations.
Life is beautiful as it is. The way it is. To
see its beauty, to experience Life’s magic, you must let go of your urge to
intellectualize it. You cannot make any meaning out of Life by applying reason
and logic to it. It is an experience. And an experience is gone through, it is
felt, it cannot be explained or understood. Every experience that you go
through, whether you want it or not, teaches you something new about Life. And through
your learning, consistently and continuously, you appreciate Life better.
In the face of Life’s trials and challenges,
don’t think of death as an option. It is not. The important thing to remember
is that very often, what you don’t want will arrive in your Life. You can’t get
rid of it by wishing it weren’t there. The more you wish that way, the more you
will suffer. But you can avoid suffering, if you simply accept Life for what it
is. If possible, and if you are up to it, make a difference to
another Life. In a choice-less Life, this is the only choice you have. And when
you exercise it, not only do you encounter inner peace, you also prevent your
mind from imagining absurd, morbid perspectives!
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