Sunday, September 7, 2008

MEANINGFUL LIFE

MEANINGFUL LIFE

Our bodies considered to be the most mystical of creations. The mysteries, the intricacies of the human body all reflect on higher and deeper cosmic secrets, because everything is created as a microcosm of the macrocosm.
And the same is true with scientists and technology. The understanding of the inner workings of the universe teach us about ourselves, and the ultimate frontier is when we can find balance between our understanding of the world, nature, the work we do, and our own souls. That is the ultimate integration, the marriage between who you are and what you do. As long as you do not connect the two, they are at battle between body and soul, between matter and spirit.
Basically to sum it up, whether we like it or not, our lives consist of two parts; our bodies and our souls; our work and our spirit; what you are and what you do. Initially, they are somewhat dichotomous, and it is our job to unite and integrate the two.
We need to take the time to focus and create a type of spiritual space which allows us to recognize that we are not just what we do. But at the same time, and I think this is the ultimate challenge, we have to enter and immerse our­selves in our workplace-our feet need to be in the galoshes-and learn to integrate and elevate the work that we do with the making of something spiritual.
This of course includes using the talents, the connections, and the money you've made to advance different caus­es. But I'm going a step beyond that. Even your work itself, the talents that you have developed, the experience that you've earned, can itself be reflective of something more Divine.
I know there may be skeptics out there who say, "We live in a rat race. Tomorrow the stock market opens up. People are more worried about where Nasdaq is going and I don't have time for this integration stuff."
But that's just the response of someone who can't see the forest through the trees, someone who is consumed with the here and now. And don't get me wrong, all of us have that challenge. I sometimes also feel that way. Sometimes you're involved in the moment, that's why we have weekends, that's why we have Sunday evenings like this and we have other moments where we can sit back and reflect and really prepare ourselves to whether that's what we want to have, is that what we want to gain with our lives, and really create that type of balanced look at things.
Not that it's easy at all. A lot of what drives our lives is the insecurity of life itself. The fact that we live in a mate­rial world, the fact that our psyches, our subconscious, for that matter our conscious minds know that materialism is impermanent, temporary, creates deep insecurity in our lives. And when we're insecure, we hold on to the eggs in the basket, the possessions, and the pursuit of money becomes a very strong driving force because it creates the illusion of security.
The more we are immersed in that illusion of security, the more difficult it gets to allow anything else in.
I find many people who are really kind people, who may be ethical in their personal lives, who become sharks at work to the point of being unethical and immoral. Their need to win has a lot to do with security and insecurity and what they think is important in life.
Try this exercise. Take out a piece of paper and try to draw a circle and tell me how perfect that circle is. No mat­ter how talented you are, even if you're an artist, you're not going to draw a perfect circle.
Now, to get a perfect circle you need a compass. A compass has a needle and you stick it in the paper, hold it firm­ly, and then you draw a circle with a pencil around that center. What's the difference between that circle and the one you drew without a compass? The difference is that one has a center and one does not.
No circle can be complete if you do not have a center. Even with a center, you have to have it firmly established so it doesn't become jagged and incomplete. If your compass is continually shifting, you will not be able to create that perfect circle.
The center of our lives is not our work. Our work is the circle. The center is your spirit, your purpose, and your vision. The work that you do should extend from your center, not the other way around.
If you don't have a spiritual center and the center you create around your work shifts-you lose your job or you get older, or you get bored with your work-then your circle can never really be complete because it is being driven by the means rather than by the ends.