What is Most Important?

Today’s world is more complicated than ever. Many people are trying to balance work, family, and relationships. Outside situations and conditions are becoming more demanding, pulling us away from our inherent clarity and strength. Because of this, we forget about what is important.

There once was a man in a hospice who was slowly passing away. He talked about what a great life he had lived. A wonderful family, a career, a nice house. He’d traveled the world and did many things. After pausing for a moment he said, “But what did I really do in this life? What was the real purpose of all of this?”

Most of us spend so much time and energy chasing something outside of ourselves. Maybe we are looking for happiness, or security, or trying to fill some void or emptiness inside. When the things that we chase change or disappear, we end up deeply dissatisfied. We either don’t get what we want, or we get what we want, but we can’t keep it. There is not one thing in this world we can keep. Or, we get what we want, but it is not enough, so we want more, or maybe we wish it could be just a little different. Even if we have everything, there is something deep down that knows that something isn’t quite right. When we look for something outside of ourselves, we lose touch with what is important and lose our direction.

Many people have sought some kind of spiritual practice, yoga, or meditation to help relieve the stress and dissatisfaction they experience in daily life. These different types of practices in and of themselves have no direction. Some years ago, there was a nun ranting about the term “mindfulness.” She went on and on explaining how this term is being overused, sold, and marketed, losing its original meaning. She finally said, “A thief needs mindfulness! If the thief wants to be successful and not go to jail, the thief needs to be very mindful of what they are doing.” As you can see, mindfulness practice itself has no direction. It’s just a tool. So our practice needs a clear direction. Without a direction, all the different spiritual practices are just empty tools, not able to truly help us live a more clear and compassionate life. Also, if we just have a direction with no spiritual practice to live it, then it is just a good idea. So practice and direction are like two wings of a bird.

It is possible to connect with something that is already inside of us. It is not dependent on outside conditions and situations. We can become free from our attachment to fear, anger, and self-centeredness. Our minds can become clear and less busy. By learning some basic meditation tools, you can live your life with more clarity, compassion, and purpose.