Look around you; what do you see? Pick a thing. Then deconstruct it.
I see a fridge. I use it to keep food cold so it doesn't go bad, which would make it taste bad and inconvenience me, both financially and health-wise. Inside the fridge are things that are healthy for me and things I indulge in against my better judgement. The fridge is large, blocky and inhuman. It's goofy, really. It has magnets with various phone numbers for restaurants and services on it, and also a big dry-erase magnet where my roommates have written random things, many of them 'inappropriate' (and pretty funny).
You're wondering why I'm going into a detailed analytical description of my fridge. It's just a small example of a bigger concept: deconstruct anything and it becomes absurd. Repeat a word enough and it sounds funny. Stare at a person for long enough and you'll likely start laughing at their mannerisms. Life is silly and ridiculous; much of what we do is ephemeral and it's easy to feel like an ant among 7 billion other ants. Don't let this depress you; it's a beautiful thing.
Part of mindfulness involves non-attachment. If we cling to polarized ideas of 'good' and 'bad', we're really just setting ourselves up to only be happy with our lives half the time (if even). Attachment doesn't just mean attachment to people, money or good looks. It means attachment to ideas. Look around you and notice the absurdity of life, and enjoy it. Don't take things seriously; anything 'bad' is literally all in your head.
Granted, there are truly harmful things that happen. We should try to prevent these things and be mindful of them when we have the opportunity to make a difference. But, most of the time, our moods are thrown off by something stupid, like a parking ticket or a break-up or politics.
Play life like a game rather than acting like a bummed-out pawn with no control. Cliche as it sounds, you're the master of your own existence and can literally do whatever you want. Just don't rob a bank or anything.
Zen takes the attitude of, "Life is inherently absurd and meaningless and I can basically do whatever I want," and gives it meaning. We find meaning in the activities of daily life-- walking, talking, working and cooking-- these are all meditations and exercises in mindfulness. Work on being present and don't take things so seriously.
You'll be surprised how much more meaningful life will be when you stop feeling like you need to force meaning and structured seriousness upon it. Just enjoy the ride.
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Loved the HST quote and HST feel of this post. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI have only recently come to this conclusion in life, that there really is no 'meaning' for all of us being here. Sounds depressing to think about, but its not, its completely liberating.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a shit life by any means before this epiphany, but now everything is SUPER AWESOME, knowing that I can quite literally do ANYTHING I want at any given time. This may be the only shot at life/being we get.. Have a ball!!
Short and beautiful. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder - it's one I think we all need sometimes. I like the paragraph "Play life like a game..." It's such an empowering thought that you can literally do *whatever* you want. It gives a feeling of freedom and joy, of personal power and choice. Love it! Thanks for the post. :)
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