Living
Commonweal Labyrinth lit at night by Angela Medonia
Today, the sky is grey, the fog is thick, and the sound of waves can be heard in the distance. The temperature sits at 54 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Monday.
It helps for the day to be named - keeps track of the moments we live. The idea of living surfaced in the quietness of the start of this day. There are so many reasons why people want to live - first, the fact that one is born into existence as a human being is a huge gift. Most take it for granted without much thought of the myriad succession of miracles (maybe coincidences) that had to happen in order for their lives to come into being. But once past the superficial reasons, come deeper curiosities about living.
One realizes at a certain point, that the state of living will fade into old age, infirmity, death. It's a part of living. Rather than teaching the truth of death as a part of life, we do our best as a society in America to ignore the fact. And therefore, gratitude is not cultivated as a form of consciousness that can be expressed in simple and complex, subtle, beautiful ways. We forget that every moment is precious. Every encounter will be the last. Every exchange of joy and sorrow, unique.
And, living is hard today. So is dying.
There are the well-covered media stories about war and conflict; and then, there are the stories about conditions that are driving more people into desperation as housing, work, and basic safety in the streets continues to be a growing concern. It is a gift to know you can pay bills, have a meal, find a way to take care of basic needs, and if one is really blessed, something can be done to meet the needs of others. There are stories of slow and quick demise.
As one deepens understanding about life/death - one moves to the questions that begin to surface curiosity about life's purpose, and the destiny that awaits. It's a delicate balance. On one hand, it is important to live fully; on the other, it is important to know that wasting time is what most of us do. We waste time with worry, anger, ambition, doubt, fear. And we forget that the conditions we face that give way to those wasteful uses of energy could just as easily be encountered as opportunities to grow - learning important death skills such as letting go, becoming "zero", being still and quiet, communicating without words and amplifying gratitude, love, and acceptance.
All of this is not to say one should avoid acting when action is needed; or speaking when words are necessary to focus and bring situations to clarity. To do those things well, one needs to have mastered the skills of listening, knowing how to yield, recognizing one's own heart capacity.
Living is complicated these days. There are not enough spaces of community or social engagement that host people who want to move beyond the divisions that have been created to keep people apart. Louder voices; grabbing power; exhausting life energy - even these lead to the end of living.