THE ESSENCE OF LIFE
Day 345 of 365 days
The essence of life and our purpose in it are the types of questions that lurk in the back of many of our minds. When these questions arise, we can either develop our thoughts, or we can ignore the question altogether. Questioning life and our meaning in it is what develops our mode of consciousness, or in other words, our self-awareness, which then impacts our actions.
Someone with a developed answer or an idea of the essence of life will have a good understanding of themselves and their duties on Earth. Although, someone who ignores the question, will become not much of a human at all, but more a thoughtless and purposeless group of living cells. A person without a mode of consciousness will not be able to live a meaningful life, and therefore they will conduct himself or herself carelessly and greedily through his or her actions.
Our lives consist of two different worlds: the external world and our internal world. The external world is objective because it is constituted by natural and societal laws that everyone follows. This practical world, or the outside world in our perspective, is where everyone lives and interacts with one another. On the contrary, our internal world is subjective, because it is constituted by our thinking, feeling, and imagination. This subjective world is where only we are capable of entering because we are the only ones who have access to our mental sectors.
As we navigate through the highways and byways of life; one realises that the faster life becomes, the busier it gets and the louder it is. Therefore, it becomes harder to comprehend the simplest and most essential aspects of life. Love, happiness, fellowship, brotherhood, family, loyalty and most importantly peace. For instance, all the attributes mentioned, ultimately don’t give you joy without peace. Peace is how we get to live in love, happiness and fellowship.
The noise that arises from the flight of success in the rush hour of the rat race of life, rushing to become something; to become someone, through the attainment of things and titles; has numbed us from the possibility of being content and peaceful outside of these things. It is the reality of finding peace in what is; of finding yourself in the slow lane while life seemingly passes you by every minute, hour, year in and year out. The peace of being at ease even when your peers boast successful careers; living in the posh areas of the most luxurious suburbs; married with kids and life seems to be going so well for them; while you wake up to your simple 9-5 normality, in your small, minimalist humble life should keep us moving.
In principle, the higher you go, the colder it gets and the thinner the air becomes. The metaphorical application of that principle to the rat race of life brings about a profound understanding that likewise; the faster you go on the highway of life; the higher you climb the ladder of success; the colder it gets and the thinner the air becomes. As one soars the heights of success, one realises that all these things, titles and people that have become part of life up there is futile without peace and purpose. The void caused by the innate human need for real affection has become a far cry looking at the distance and the bridges burnt and ladders destroyed going up.
Life is vast and composed of many elements, intricate and mind-boggling. In the pursuit of happiness, purpose and peace, we lose sight of the beginning. We don’t miss Eden because we have big dreams and want to live life to the fullest; we miss it because the journey often becomes the end in and of itself.
