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Living Deliberately

May 3rd, 2010 No comments

Each moment of life is precious. In many given moment, we can allow life to pass us by or we can be mindful of what’s most essential, living with genuine purpose, energy, and joy. Too often we find ourselves hurrying to grab our coffee, commute to work, and get to a meeting, rarely pausing to take a deep breath and seriously consider how we spend the limited number of precious moments that we have. When we are aware and awake in a given moment, we have the capacity to make that moment extraordinary.

I Look at my life and other people’s lives as an anthropologist  might look at the ritual of a tribe in some remote forest, with a mind always open and fresh, wondering what the purpose of these actions might be. Often, I think about what is the purpose of the late night talk shows – making fun of people. We spend too much of our time doing things automatically that is important to access whether our habits bring us real joy. whenever we think that how we spend a given day or even a given hour is unimportant, and whenever we think we need to rush through what we’re doing so later we can get to something more relaxing, meaningful,or important, we are cheating ourselves. In fact, we never know for certain that we’ll be around for the future that we imagine. What is certain is that any of us can pause in this moment to consider what’s most essential and to live this moment in a deliberate, meaningful, purposeful, and beautiful way.

Although each of us has only a limited number of evenings, thoughts, and breaths left in our lives, we rarely take the time to consider how they are spent. Such questions usually come up strongly during adolescence and early adulthood. When we challenge the values of our parents and our society and try to decide what in the world to do with our lives. These issues also may come up when we are faced with significant losses or transitions; a divorce, getting laid off, the death of loved one, or the onset of an illness often cause people to reflect more deeply.

“What is the most essential to live a happy and meaningful life?” is one single most important question in modern society. We become so busy and so engrossed in the small task of our lives that we find it difficult to step back and ask ourselves what matters most. If we haven’t thought much about such issues and don’t have a clear, definitive answer, we probably lack an overall sense of direction in life. It then becomes difficult to tell if we are making progress or going in circles. If we want to have a genuinely happy life, it’s important to contemplate this question of what brings us joy and meaning throughout our lives. The more we consider what is most essential, the better our experience can help us discover deeper answers.

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