A Life of Meaning – Scratching the Surface

There are few things we can be absolutely certain of. Two of them are, we were born and we will die. Everything else is conjecture. I absolutely believe in the magic of things felt and not seen. I am a believer that we are spiritual beings, having a human experience. And I wonder what this all means to our realities and how can we use our spirituality in a way that provides for a meaningful and fulfilling life.

For the purposes of this article spirituality does not equal religion. You can be religious and be spiritual, but you can also be spiritual and not religious. I’d like to take AA’s perspective, as spirituality as a belief in a power greater than ourselves for the purposes of inclusion. This is how Alcoholics Anonymous has been able to help millions of people battling alcohol addiction, through inclusivity, not exclusivity. Just about any half reasonable person on the planet either logically or emotionally knows and understands that there is a power greater than oneself. If there is no belief in God, due to the historical stigma, politicization of God, or whatever reason, we can admit that Nature is a power greater than ourselves. We can admit that there is an underlying energy, a connection between all things. This is definitely greater than ourselves. We can tap into what quantum physicists are discovering, we are all made of the same stuff, and the separateness we experience is purely illusion. We can understand that many religious traditions, many ancient spiritual traditions and many other sources have the same messages. The same message in different clothing. If you take away the details which were created by humans at some point or another for some purpose or another, you see pearls of truth.

These pearls of truth, when realized and applied to daily life can be transformative. When we seek meaning, what are we really seeking? Most of us seem to compartmentalize spirituality and “the real world”, our purpose and making ends meet. We seem to think they are separate realms that we must divide and attend to during their designated times. But what would it look like if the two were married? If we carried with us in our day-to-day lives the search for truth and meaning, the creation of connections and a sense of service to a higher power? Even if that higher power is serving your family, or your higher self. What if we no longer accepted meaninglessness as the status-quo and behaviors which are not aligned with what we truly believe as something that must be tolerated? I’ll tell ya, the tide would turn.

When connectivity is the focus, not only are our actions supported by others, but resources become abundant. If you are not successful in your career, perhaps it’s not a career you care deeply about, or if you are successful yet, you feel a sense of emptiness, what does that tell you? We are a culture out of alignment. It is true, we are gaining greater alignment by the day, there is a shift occuring and for each person who lives their truth, consciousness is raised. For each person who stands up for her or himself, another is inspired. And for each person who lives in such a way that demonstrates meaningfulness and authenticity, we know it can be done, and perhaps even should be done.