Measuring a Life II

Once again...I have allowed myself to be inspired.

Here is the Continuation, the Futherance, the Retort, if you will.

There are plenty of theories about what it means to live life to the fullest. Some measure their quality of life by how many people they have loved or how many good deeds they have done. Others push themselves to physical, mental, and emotional extremes in order to experience the immediate thrills that life has to offer. Still more people measure success solely on proffesional merits listed in their resumes and such or the financial wealth documented in their stock portfolios. The average person may look at all of these things when considering his or her overall... let us call it, "Quality of life".

Theres is, however, one critical point that we miss when do so. Let's say you've been very happily married for say...28 years, you have two beautiful, healthy, successful children. Let's say you have a doctorate degree, a mercedes, you donate to 15 charities every year, you been all around the world, and you even finally went scuba-diving last summer. You are even in perfect health. Anyone in their right mind would say you're very well-off. Many might say you have it all. Hmm? But, now what? In other words, what, at the end of life, is the ultimate result of compiling our achievements, whether it's for the world to see or for our own self-reflection?

When measuring our quality of life solely by external circumstances, we fail to recognize that even if we tally up all our accomplishments, poccessions, and even loved ones, we will never really be satisfied. In the end, there will always be that one last thing that we wanted to do or person we wanted to see or word we wanted to say. It is human nature to want sumthing more, regardless of how many "mores" there have already been, & if the quality of our lives is determined solely on our accomplishments, we are destined to be dissapointed.

So, if not the people we loved and the things we did, how should we measure a successful life? Buddhists, of course, consider enlightenment to be the ultimate goal, but many of us will not see that moment of sheer bliss, at least not in this life. Perhaps, though, we can take a page from the eastern book and consider what leads a person to enlightenment. All the primary elements of the Buddhist practice - the eightfold path, the percepts, meditation - can all be boiled down to the art of a little thing I like to call Mindful Living, a powerful awareness of oneself, others, and the world around us. Awareness of the place of our actions in the great thread that connects everything, and if not exact knowledge of where on that thread we stand, the understanding that the social distinctions and unnecessary importance we place on the things around us exist only in our own minds. Rather, we construct and reconstruct these illusions in a an effort to reinforce our egos, both individually and collectively, and while pride may serve our need for instant gratification, it does nothing but disapoint us in the long-term.

Knowledge is Power, a phrase that anyone who knows me can safely say I use on a daily basis. Knowledge is Power, but Self-Knowledge is absolute Divinity. Knowledge is indeed Power...The Power to truth, the Power to Bliss, the Power to ultimate Enlightenment.

There you have it.
ANSWERS.
Do with them what you will. It is your choice.

LUV, PEACE & BLESSINGS to All!