Once again, what is the meaning of life?
Feelings
The writings of a friend; the capacity he has for successfully expressing his feelings.
Many people also have the same feelings and emotions yet the writings which they make, upon attempting to give them wordly-expression, comes out all wrong...
This is the same for other forms of expression such as drawing.
The difficulty of expressing ones` feelings, in a concrete form, for all to see/read/hear/touch and, ultimately, perceive.
The importance of finding a method, in many cases unique to all other known methods, for one to express his inner feelings.
Is this what Marting Luther King managed to do with speech?
King made such an impressive speech, his famous "I have a dream...", and even though those words were not on his original speech for that day, they were not total improvisation either since he used such words during his church lectures. So it is not the fact that he was saying such profoundly moving words that so many people were brought to action but rather the fact that he was the right person (the one saying those words) at the right time, at the right place.
Ghandi was no special person either. He was a lousy lawyer, so says his biography, who was impelled in a certain direction which clashed against his ideals. He fought for his ideals, the one thing that made his life worth living. Meaningless is a life lived without ideals, without direction or intention.
History books now salute Martin Luther King and Ghandi and a select number of other leaders yet they were simply vehicles of expression. The ideals and emotions were present in millions of people, those leaders are like the pen that serves as a medium for the writer to give physical presence to his most deep-rooted feelings.
Awareness.
Most forms of meditation and spiritual practice (and even martial art practices) focus on helping someone develop their awareness. The well trained samurai has developed the seven/ten-direction eyesight in which one is not actively following every move of his opponent but rather seeing everything that is happening around him. This form of seeing is somewhat passive, since it does not focus on one particular aspect, yet at the same time active, since it is very perceptive, and finally, all-encompassing.
The awareness of the shepperd. Someone who lives such a simple life yet whose senses and mind are sharp and perceptive.
One may be more aware than another person because of where and when they were born and raised up, and because of differences in personality BUT it is very important to know what to do with the awareness that one has.
Why is awareness so important?
First one needs awareness. Once one is aware, or becoming aware, then he can guide his awareness to himself... to his Self. In this way he/she will comprehend himself; will understand why it is that he finds a certain flower beautiful; will identify what are those emotions that rise to the surface as his eyes first see that awe-striking waterfall.
We are instruments which are receiving signals. These instruments have their peculiarities which make them unique but biased. Once one has become fully aware of oneself then he will be fully aware of the biases in himself and thus be capable of not allowing them to influence his perception of the world and the decisions he takes.
The question then arises: "Is the knowledge of oneself the most important thing in the world? Is it The meaning/purpose? Can we be that egoistic?".
The fact is that social communication is extremely important yet when it is performed by people who lack inner knowledge it will lead, in the best of cases, nowhere.
Even sadder is when a person in a position of power does not understand what vices are controlling him, and thus all those who he leading. This will end up hurting many people.
Self knowledge affects not only you but all those around you... thus it is the least egoistic thing you can do.
Taking the Step.
Awareness is built up gradually, by a series of small steps. In particular it involves the need for action.
When one awakes in the morning and vaguely recalls a dream then he should take the action and write that down. A small action into understanding himself better.
When one feels a strong feeling arising in him, such as anger or of love, then take the time to look at it, understanding why it arose and it is asking of him.
Meditation, allocating a time during the day especifically dedicated to looking into ones` being, is another step.
Steps
The child that looks at the skateboard ramp and decides to really go for that jump, to not back down even though he may very well fall.
The adolescent who wants to remove the aid wheels of his bike despite the falls he knows he has to take.
Revving the bike as it goes up the hill and having made the fully conscious decision not to let go, not to back down, to fly.
Leaving friends and family behind and flying off to an unknown location in order to pursue a personal goal conscious of the good and bad moments to come.
All steps in life have their dangers, their unknowns, the good side and bad side, yet they must be taken, with full consciousness and awareness, for one to not become stagnant, for personal growth to continue regardless of the age!
