Are we missing the point of human existence?
During a night shift this week, I re-visited Eckhart Tolle's 'A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose; a greater gem, (in my opinion), than his more popular, 'The Power of Now'.
Within just a few pages, I again, was blown away by the wisdom this book has to offer.
One of the first ah-ha paragraphs was when he dives into the meaning of the word "sin".
He quotes,
"Sin is a word that has been greatly misunderstood and misinterpreted. Literally translated from the ancient Greek in which the New Testament was written, to sin means to miss the mark, as an archer who misses the target, so to sin means to miss the point of human existence. It means to live unskillfully, blindly, and thus to suffer and cause suffering. Again, the term, stripped of its cultural baggage and misinterpretations, points to the dysfunction inherent in the human condition.”
To miss the point of human existence...
To live unskillfully, blindly, and thus to suffer and cause suffering...
Such. Powerful. Words.
And of course they sent me on a tangent of existential questions. Questions that ask one to inquire about the daily content of their mind and choices of actions.
Some included...
What delusions is my mind caught up in?
Is my focus on my true values and priorities or are they more streamlined to society's standards?
Am I doing what I actually want to be doing? Am I showing up in the world as my authentic self?
Have I lost my inner child for fear of being too much?
When I look back at my life when I'm 85, am I living how I'd like to remember having lived?
Are the things I care about and think about on a daily basis really that important to me? Are they creating a worthwhile purpose to my life?
I LOVE content that pushes me to inquire about these tough questions. And for me, it provides me with a calmer, more peaceful and joyful perspective of life.
What came up in my mind is a list of things and ways of living that are important to me in creating a purposeful life. It included...
To be at peace with myself and with others
To see the good in everyone and to acknowledge the truth of being human (that everyone has flaws and acts in non-ideal ways at times)
To help others as best that I can
To be kind and to share joy with others
To act in ways that support my health mentally, physically and spiritually
To always be learning
To laugh with everyone and anyone that I can
So, I turn the paragraph to you. In what ways have you been missing the point of human existence? What comes up for you when answering some of the existential questions above?
Food for thought.
Cheers,
Shawna