My Gentle Penguin,
Who knew that sitting still and having time to just exist could be so fruitful? Actually, I think lots of people knew. I mean I’ve read about it probably a dozen times or more in various Buddhist writings, in Yoga classes and even in Martha Stewart stress-reduction articles. But it wasn’t until I experienced it myself that it truly became an answer.
I’m sure it’s true for so many things—being told the answers is probably not going to give answers. Rather, it’s in the discovering it yourself that one finds the truth.
So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that 2011 being the Year of Action, for me, actually also became the year of answers, because in doing (instead of reading), I’ve actually found so many of the answers I’ve been seeking.
- What is the meaning of life?
- How do you find happiness?
- What is my purpose?
- What kind of tree is in my yard?
- How can I live a meaningful life?
- Are tomatoes used in cabbage rolls in Germany?
With the exception of the tree in my yard (sugar maple) and tomatoes in cabbage rolls (yes, in Southern Germany), my answers will likely not be answers for you at all.
I find that both exciting and sad. Exciting because it makes life more mysterious and magical—the truth IS in the quest!; sad because it took a lot of angst and energy to get the answers I got and I feel like you, Gentle Penguin, should be saved that same angst and energy.
I can’t help myself…I want to try…
Let’s try happiness.
I do know the answer, with certainty. The answer to finding happiness resides in returning to a more nostalgic way of life.
By that I mean, living in the real world, not in technology. Everything from spending more time in face-to-face conversations and less time in e-mail and facebook to walking/running outside instead of walking/running on a treadmill in front of a television.
It means doing rather than delegating. Everything from hanging the laundry on the line instead of drying it in the dryer to cooking your own food instead of ordering take in or eating out.
It means slowing down and giving yourself breathing room instead of racing through and filling your days to overflowing. Everything from taking electronic-free weekends to joining the slow food movement to taking 10 minutes to doing nothing more than watch the first snowfall of the season.
It means being grateful for what you have instead of always wanting more. Everything from being aware of and avoiding the people and things that cause you to feel less valuable, successful or important to learning to connect with you house and yard in a way that feeds your soul, rather than running away constantly to a store to find some form of satisfaction.
It means reducing your dependence. Everything to relearning how to save up money for something you want (and paying with cash) instead of buying instantly on credit and having to worry about owing money later to relearning skills that make you more capable, like sewing and cooking and baking and gardening.
Finally, it means being more respectful. To people and nature and property and cultures and time.
But you’ve probably already read things like this before, and so, my reiterating it is nothing more than accumulation of ideas. Maybe it will sit in the back of your mind. Maybe someday it will lead you to try something new at some point. And maybe you’ll discover that the answer is actually something different.
