Today's
Meditation:
Oh,
how we like to complicate our lives! It's so easy to
commit ourselves to more and more tasks, to buy more and
more things, to allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by work
and relationships and commitments.
Most
of us almost never experience true simplicity. Even on
vacation, we overplan and we have super-high expectations of
just how things should work out and just what people should
do. We fill every hour with activities instead of
resting and relaxing, which are two of the main purposes of
vacations to begin with.
When
our lives are complicated, experiencing happiness and joy is
difficult because we're so focused on taking care of the
things and commitments that we've accumulated over the
years. When we're constantly focused on the next step
or the next task, the present moment slips by and we don't
feel the joy or the peace that the moment offers us.
The expensive car and house may be nice and may impress
others, but the extra expenses keep us focused on working to
make payments. The volunteer position at church may
make us feel like we're contributing, but the time spent on
it is time that we simply cannot focus on the simple things
of life.
Some
of the happiest people on the planet are people with few to
no possessions, with no ongoing commitments to groups or
organizations. The simplicity of their lives allows
them to focus on the true necessities of life, the people
whom they love and the taking care of themselves. Of
course, many people with few possessions are miserable
because of their envy and their unfulfilled desires, but
that's a completely different story.
How
can you simplify? How can you create a day when you
come home from work and have no more obligations for the
day, or when you wake up and have no commitments to take
care of? This is the type of simplicity that allows
us to experience the day fully and to fill it with
precious moments.
|