I’m the kind of person that is looking for meaning in everything. This opens up my perspective on life to be able to look at ordinary things and find great lessons in them. It inspires me daily.
But lately, I’ve also come to appreciate meaninglessness. Sometimes, it’s nice just to be myself, do something, and not search intensely for what great spiritual message may be coming through. It’s refreshing just to be.
This is part of the practice of mindfulness. While it’s lovely to be mindful of what we can learn in any given moment, true mindfulness is being present with whatever is, without any expectation or need for it to result in a particular experience.
For many of us, this is a challenge. We want to “get the most out of life.” We fill ourselves up with lots of “experiences”, constantly scrutinizing each situation for its value, and we feel disappointed if we’re not “getting something out of it.”
It’s freeing to just let something be meaningless. Or rather, to let its intrinsic existence be good enough, at face value. The moment is just what it is. Present with the ordinariness, the simplicity. Let the mind be quiet, and breathe in, breathe out.
I find this is the path to inner peace.
