What Is Real Living?

What is true, real living?

This is a question I ask myself all the time. Perhaps it is because there is little voice inside of me, a little piece of me that has recently awoken, that has just begun to point the way for me. It’s constantly reminding me that there is something more, something I knew but have long forgotten. Maybe, in one of my recent past lives, I began my search. I know that I haven’t quite found what I seek, because I still feel the grip of a greater slumber holding onto me. I don’t want it anymore.

Now, it’s one thing to say you want to shake off the blanket of awareness you so want to let go of, and quite another to actually do so. I’m in that position right now – I want to go, but I don’t know where exactly I’m going, nor how to get there. Maybe I never will. But I’m going to use that little piece, that little voice within me to guide me. I must find what is under that blanket, under that cloak or shallow living.

That guy has got some serious wisdom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered:

“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

Wow. Do me a favor and re-read that quote.

Whatever is there, beyond the blue skies and bright sun is waiting for us. The beauty is that it’s within you, hidden until it is found. (Photo credit: Axiraa (away))

I truly believe that how we come to answer this great question – What is true living? – is unique to each and every one of us. Thousands of years ago, The Church enforced only one way to the “truth”, but those were times when people hadn’t yet explored critical thinking or feeling like we do today. For some, the way is still in the bible, still in the following Jesus. And you know what, that is completely, 100% fine. Of course, our interpretations of such things vary greatly, and as long as they feel right within the deepest crevices of our beings, why shouldn’t we allow ourselves to believe what we so deeply feel?

So with that thought, I always encourage every person I meet to always, always explore what they believe. We all come from diverse backgrounds, but I believe we’re all going to the same place.

Beyond guidance, I do not believe what I or anyone else can say will enlighten anyone by any means. It’s a journey you and you alone can take for yourself. Like I said, there can be guidance and help along the way, but just as a train does not move without fuel to power it, you will not move forward without your passion to lead the way.

What is real living to you, and how will you discover it?

–mrprose

Related articles

• 10 Pieces of Wisdom from the Dalai Lama’s Twitter Feed (ecorazzi.com)

It’s About the Journey, not the Destination

Hello again,

I’ve really begun to notice a particular pattern in my writing on this blog. In my thinking itself. I always seem to write about destinations. Ending points in learning or acceptance or the like. A finale of some sort. I see myself envisioning that sometimes, and thus it has been translated in my writing.

Ooooh is that for me? (Photo credit: DVIDSHUB)

I find myself almost romanticizing the “end” of the journey/journeys that we go on. There are many, and some are difficult. On those paths, I hope to have some sort of great prize awaiting my arrival. The truth, though, is that life is not really so much about the destination, the ending place one arrives at, as it is about the pathway and experiences one takes away from the whole thing.

Look at your life. Doesn’t the vast majority of it seem to be ‘on the way to somewhere’? It’s always another climb, another great distance to cross. We look only at the horizon where we hope to eventually be, and never at the ground beneath our feet, a place that deserves more of your attentionthan anything. Because it doesn’t just end. The path you just took leads to a hundred more, as the process of discovery is not a short one.

That mountain up ahead? One might see it as the final destination of their journey, but in reality, it’s just another part of the journey itself. (Photo credit: blmiers2)

Those that look back on their lives and regret not doing more are the people that had their eyes glued on the horizon and nothing else.

Doesn’t it always seem as though the road you’re currently on is just a never-ending lane of endlessness? Sometimes that’s just exactly what it is. I’m not saying nothing ever changes nor am I saying that that single road will stretch on forever onto the very edges of our universe. I’m saying that you’re always on some sort of road, and that cycle of roads never ends. It explains the sometimes painful monotony we all come up against. I don’t see how growth can ever have a final point. I don’t believe true “perfection” can ever be achieved as long as we’re human. It’s something that frankly doesn’t exist for us. Thus, I do not think that those thoughts deserve their space in our collective minds.

I don’t know where exactly I’m going right now. Maybe I never will. But I’m not going to let my expectations limit the possibilities of what can be. (Photo credit: VinothChandar)

We like to have a point, an exact location where we can set our minds up for expectation. Results of some kind, whatever kind we imagine up and settle on. It’s a closed minded way of living. It’s that kind of mentality that can ruin the experience of the whole adventure.

To learn about what life is all about, it’s meaning to you, a shift in mindset has to be made. No longer can we march through life with all our focus on the reward perched at the ‘end’ of the road. We rush through far too often, attention on the things that don’t feed our souls. Living like that leads only to the unhappiness that is so apparent in our world today.

Instead, I believe our attention and energy should be concentrated on the journey of exploration and discovery, of mistakes and learning. That is where the true rewards, the truly important pieces of life lie.

It’s not about getting there, it’s not about how quickly one can arrive. It’s about what you take away from your experiences on the way there. Growth and learning has no limit. It’s about the journey, not the destination.

–mrprose

Related articles

• My life: it’s all about the journey not the destination (baghaya.wordpress.com)
• It’s the journey (rjptalk.wordpress.com)

Reconsidering What Mistakes Are

Hello again,

Sorry for the prolonged silence, it has been an absolutely crazy last few days, but I’m back here now, and definitely inspired.

As I spoke about last time, mistakes are a huge part of who we are, and truly accepting them is truly accepting who we are. In fact, I believe our mistakes are what shape us as people and make us who we are. It’s just that they’re such a huge part of our lives, that avoiding them or denying them is to run away from what life has to offer. Running away from growth. Running away from ourselves.

But I want to look at what mistakes are a bit more deeply, because the more I think about it, the more I realize how subjective a mistake is. What’s right? What’s wrong? That’s different for everyone, and sadly society seems to dictate what ‘should’ be, a lot of the time.

The definition:

mis·take/məˈstāk/

Noun: An action or judgment that is misguided or wrong: “coming here was a mistake”.

Verb: To be wrong about

I think we need to reconsider the meaning of the word and really look at “mistakes” differently. Everything about the definition about seem rather negative to me, including the example. That’s because we’re taught in our society that mistakes are bad. Fix this, fix that, move on, don’t look back. Mistakes can never be a good thing.

That’s not true at all, and it really doesn’t have to be that way. Mistakes can actually be blessings. The imperfection can be seen as perfection. The universe provides them for us so that we can grow from them. Look at your mistakes. First accept them as yours, as a part of who you are, but then learn from them, see what you can improve on. I believe that this is one of the best ways to grow, and I can say that I have learned so much by doing this, personally.

Mistakes have lead to some of the most monumental discoveries in history, because through mistakes, we can discover things we may not have opened our minds about. Blunders and bloopers, gaffes and flubs all exists as challenges in our lives. Not as a challenge of something to overcome (impossible, as long as we’re human), but as a

Isn’t life full of pathways? (Photo credit: Jen Son)

challenge of acceptance, which can be sometimes the greatest challenge of all.

How then, should we look at “mistakes”, if not for the way they’re looked at already? The concrete latin definition of “error” is not a mistake, but rather ‘straying’, or ‘wandering’ from a path. This could be the “correct” path, decided by society, but it doesn’t have to be. The word simply means a deviation.

This is completely different form what mistake means in our modern world. We all deviate from paths sometimes, but I do not believe that we all see the same actions as wrong, as is the definition of the word mistake. There are just so many different paths that can be taken, each one unique to ever individual – it just shows how subjective wrong/mistake is. Not only that, but the latin definition of the word has a far more positive, or at least accepting connotation.

So are we ever truly making mistakes, or simply deviating from pathways in our lives? Think on that.

–mrprose

Related articles

• Admitting Your Mistakes (deepthinkings.wordpress.com)
• Mistakes (crystalstravels.wordpress.com)
• Admit Mistakes (mejonez.wordpress.com)