"For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour.
What matters therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment". VIKTOR FRANKL
21st century
life
Too often we find ourselves living frenetic
lives, overwhelmed by the demands of others. Even by our own demands and strivings
for extrinsic power, possessions, financial success and social recognition. As
we focus on what we see as being of paramount importance. This vulnerability is
fuelled by snake-oil sales persons and their irresistible elixirs of life: how
to make a million dollars in 12 months, how to apply the law of attraction, 12
steps to happiness …… Positive psychology gone wrong. And we remain unhappy with our lot. The
simple pleasures of life are relegated to the ‘when I find time’ drawer of our
minds.
Picture the modern family at
dinner time. Gobble-and-go meals not only take place at McDonalds, KFC, Burger
King but have moved into homes. Ipads, Ipods, cell phones, TV provide ample
distraction. Conversation, connection, sharing is absent. In answer to a
question following a talk, about what should be done to improve the fabric of
society, management guru and social commentator Charles Handy wisely replied
after a long consideration: “re-introduce the family meal”. Perhaps the
situation will worsen as more people work from home, and no longer travel to a
different place of work.
We seem to be losing our capacity
for simple joys. These are increasingly perceived to be mundane interruptions
and inconveniences. My dictionary defines mundane as being dull, routine +
worldly, not spiritual. The implication is that the mundane is unimportant.
Developing a mind-set in
order to make the most of the mundane
Author of Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore has this to say: “When people talk about finding meaning in life, they
imply that they can figure things out and set them right. But meaning that
makes life worth living may be nothing more than a moment’s realization, a
sensation, such as the touch of your baby’s skin ……”1
He brings to mind:
·
The Louis Armstrong hit of
yesteryear “I see trees of green, red roses too, I see em
bloom, for me and for you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. I see
skies of blue, clouds of white. Bright blessed days, dark sacred nights. And I
think to myself, what a wonderful world. The colors of a rainbow, so pretty in
the sky, Are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands,
sayin ‘how do you do’. They're really sayin ‘I love you’. I hear babies cry. I
watch them grow. They'll learn much more than I'll never know. And I think to
myself, what a wonderful world”.2
·
Some of
the things we’ve talked about in past articles and newsletters: the effortless
reflection and state of being that happens while walking a labyrinth, wabi sabi
– seeing beauty in imperfection, mindfully savouring and enjoying a glass of
wine, taking time to reflect and ‘sharpen the saw’, remembering and listening
to a dream, gazing at an icon
·
Washing
dishes after a communal meal at the Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo while still
in ‘noble silence’, doing a spot of writing and ‘capturing thoughts’, listen to
Neil Diamond’s “Hell Yeah” will cocooned in a car in standstill traffic,
reading a good detective yarn (a microcosm of wider life and the search to
discover, solve, overcome?)
Moore talking about “one of Plato’s expressions for care of the soul, techne tou biou, the
craft of life. Care of the souls requires craft (techne) – skill, attention,
and art. To live with a high degree of artfulness means to attend to the small
things that keep the soul engaged in whatever we are doing, and it is the very
heart of soul-making”.3
It’s in the mind. It’s in the
body. And it’s in the senses. And the soul.
The Kinesthetic Body – Make Sense?
The word kinesthetic comes from Kinema, meaning motion and Ethesia,
meaning sensing. Mind, body, senses come together when we’re most truly alive.
“All her senses were alert. She listened for sounds of breathing or small
scufflings; looked to see if there
were any tell-tale signs of recent habitation; smelled the air for the distinctive odors of carnivorous animals, or fresh
scat, or gamey meat, opening her mouth to allow her taste buds to catch the scent; let her bare skin detect any sense of
warmth that might come from the cave (touch), and allowed intuition to
guide her as she noiselessly approached the opening (movement). She stayed close to the wall, crept up on
the dark hole, and looked in”.4
Moore sees “……….certain quality of existence, a divine layer
of meaning made accessible through sensations”.1
So remember that the best things
in life are free, and take time out from your busy life to find meaning in the
everyday things, the simple things, the small things, the mundane. Use as a
mantra the Viktor Frankl insight that began this blogpost. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The beyond is not what is infinitely
remote, but what is nearest at hand”.
References
1. Moore, Thomas Original
Self Perennial 2000
2. Songwriters: Dietz, Howard, Schwartz, Arthur: What a Wonderful World
3. Moore, Thomas Care of the Soul Piatkus 1992
4. Aurel, Jean The
Valley of the Horses Simon & Schuster NY 1982
