Subtle Changes

Have you ever wondered - seriously - about how much you have changed in the course of your life? If you check your thoughts and feelings, at first you may think that you have 'not' changed. You believe you are your usual self, the one that has always been and that will keep on being. But...is it true? If you take your memory back a good amount of years, you will realize that the person you are now is not the same as it was then. Your thoughts, some of your beliefs, your tastes, preferences and, most of all, your priorities are different. What was important then may be not so important now. What you liked then would not be your choice now... Yes, it is strange to 'feel' the same, while - at the same time - you 'know' that you are not. Another peculiarity of your (and our) being human!

What You (Really) Are

Life is what it is and you are what 'you' are. Simple? Not entirely. By saying that life is what it is, we mean that there are certain occurrences that just happen, that nobody can do anything about. What about you? Well, you certainly are who you are but this doesn't necessarily mean that what you are corresponds or reflects what you "think" you are. Many a times, in fact, you speak or behave in a way that, at the moment, you believe to be the right way - while later you realize it wasn't. "It was not 'me'", you might say to justify what you said or did. This clearly shows that, at times, you act as if your were some other 'being'. Why does this happen? A possible reason could be fear. When you feel threatened (of attacked, criticized, belittled, made fun of, etc.) a defense mechanism kicks in, the expression of which does not necessarily correspond to your real 'self'.

Perspective Matters

Here is an important question you may be willing (or not) to answer: “What is my general opinion about Life”? As a start, you might ask yourself if you consider life rather simple or rather complicated. If you consider it simple, you probably tend to take things easy, you do what you have to do, without worrying too much about the outcome. You expect the best but, at the same time, you are also ready to accept whatever result comes along. On the other hand, if you are like the majority, and see life as a complicated business, you are used to making a big deal out of every problem. You have a tendency to over-worry, so you live in an almost perennial atmosphere of anxiety. You often end  up creating problems even where they don’t exist or when they could easily be either avoided or solved. Does such self-examination tell you wether  your general perception of Life is more positive or more negative?

Is Philosophy Useless?

A particularly fascinating discipline or field of study is certainly philosophy. Accepted synonyms are reasoning, thought, wisdom, knowledge.  So, classical philosophy  has to do with the mind. No practical purposes, no goals to be achieved, no material benefits: only the pleasure of "thinking". Its abstract aim is to ask questions about reality, existence, transcendence, metaphysics etc. The interesting thing is that no final answer is ever given, because there actually is no final answer. Such mental elucubrations about the nature of things, the meaning of life and the like cannot be defined once and for all. Each thinker has their own personal vision of what is, of what we are, of what this all means. In our world, so conditioned by the media, by the need to do and have 'more', not many people are interested in philosophy. They find it a useless waste of time. Because-they believe-time should only be used to acquire wealth, success, fame, pleasure, emotional fulfillment. Spiritual endeavor-they believe-doesn't yield any practical benefit. Amen.

Your Triad

Can human beings be happy by only nurturing their physical bodies, by taking care only of their material needs? Some might believe they can. But...is it true? A plant needs nutrients, water and sunlight in order to thrive. If one is missing, its life is jeopardized. As human beings are made of body and spirit, they need to take care of their physical/material necessities as well as their emotional and spiritual ones. "Sound mind in sound body", our ancestors used to say. Let's add "sound heart". The mind represents your intellectual side, your need to think and learn/know. The body is the vehicle you need to function well in your daily life. But your heart is not less important, because it is the part of you that shelters your deepest feelings and your spiritual yearnings. Therefore...give careful attention to these three parts of your 'being'. They are all equally important.

Play Your Role

A small seed can give life to a big tree if all the factors necessary to its growth are present. But if even one is lacking, the plant will not achieve its potential. Often it would wither and die. Promises are kept and expectations are fulfilled if each individual is willing to do what should be done, to be who he/she is supposed to be, moment by moment. As life is mostly made of interactions between individuals, it is of paramount importance that each accepts to behave according to the circumstances, to play out his/her "role" on the ever-changing stage of life. A hand cannot clap by itself. In every interaction two parts are needed: the speaker and the listener, the teacher and the pupil, the writer and the reader. One without the other cannot carry out their task, cannot play their role. Be ready, therefore, to act as either one or the other, according to the situation you are faced with.

Falling Leaves

The mystic poet Rumi wrote, "Be like a tree. Let the old leaves fall." Beautiful image. A tree - or any other element of nature, either living or not, for that matter - never opposes what it is given by the unfolding of its own existence. When the leaves are green, they are welcomed to stay on the branches, when they turn yellow and brown, they are allowed to detach themselves and fall to the ground, peacefully. How can "you" be like a tree? What are the old leaves that should be disposed of? Simply what you don't need any more: habits, beliefs, attachments, opinions, even people that have become obsolete, that do not provide you with new 'sap'. Such 'sap', which in trees transports the nutrients through their trunks and branches, in you provides your spirit with consciousness and creativity. 

Losing Sight

Sometimes it seems that good intentions are doomed, destined to  be drowned by the many desires which, although they started by being mere wishes, ended up becoming true “needs”. The accepted ethics, for example, show the path to honesty. But, if someone finds themselves at a crossroad where they have to choose between behaving ethically or following different criteria, which path will they take if they accept to be guided by excessive ambition, need to control, financial gain, fame at all costs? These goals rise admiration - at first. Then a desire to emulate is born. “Why not me?”. Such media-inspired models keep popping up in front of their eyes and their beliefs, so principles and priorities change. How much will they be influenced by environment, solicitations, peer pressure? Sound principles, oftentimes, seem to get shoved farther and farther, till they first lose meaning, then value, to be finally forgotten. 

Imagination: Illusion or Possibility?

How often have you said to yourself, "I have no time to dream. I am an adult, I am too busy, I must be more pragmatic. Fantasizing is children's stuff, a waste of time"? It's better for you to change your perspective. It's time to start seeing yourself – a big, rational, mature person – like an individual who is prey of illusions, a traveler wandering here and there, never finding the right way.  Nothing will change as long as you do not abandon the guidance of narrow-minded ideas, as they cannot show you the infinite possibilities that life offers. Having a 'vision' means that your existence can still be gratifying, in spite of the problems and the apparent dullness of your daily routine. The moment you realize that it is possible to open your mind to imagination, and see not only what you have been and are, but what you can still be, you become capable of making your life shift towards a more fulfilling direction. 

'Impossible' Dreams

Can you imagine a blind person guiding another blind person? In an actual situation it is certainly unthinkable. In spite of its being illogical, though, it happens rather often. The blind here represents the individual who is unaware and, if he proclaims himself to be a 'guide', the result can only be utter failure. Each pre-conceived idea, each condition or imposition that is cast upon you and that you accept willingly, indicate that you are allowing yourself to be guided by someone who is not in the position of leading another. Your passive acceptance smothers your creativity. Think about the hopes and desires you had in the past and which – till now – you consider as unattainable. Are you sure they are out of reach? Think about the secret dreams that you have always believed to be impossible. Are you truly certain they are? Recall some fantasies that you consider silly and useless. Are they really so?

Pretending

The path to attain awareness, total acceptance of the principles that are inside of you but that, at the moment, you prefer to ignore, is seen as something too far to reach, something that only a few lucky ones obtain. Right now you prefer to relegate such road in a map that you don't wish to check out because its directions and indications do not seem appealing enough to you. “I'll think about it later, when I have more time”, you say. But you will never find the time, you will always have something more urgent, interesting, amusing to do. "I am OK", you tell yourself when you pretend not to see your life slipping away, running on a track that, in spite of the temporary fulfillment, seems to lead you toward always increasing desires and more material goals. You walk with a blindfold on, unconsciously following the smell of mundane success, as a lost sheep might have followed the aroma of a more appetizingly scented grass.