Living Close To Life
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The pandemic has forced many of us to short our attention away from the outer world and thrust into our own inner world. The concepts of achievement and success that drive us in the outer world do not apply in the inner world. This leaves many of us lost, confused, and frightened. Now the we are reduced to the essentials, we have a chance to re-imagine our relationship with ourselves, with life, and therefore, with the world. In other words, it has stripped away some of what came between us and life.
What brings you closer to life?
I excerpted this passage from my new book, The Undiscovered Country: How To Live In Your Own Heart Land. Learn more about the book here:
Success in the outer world is typically defined by achievement, by status or fame, by accumulation of wealth, and often by the bottom line on a spreadsheet. These goals, however laudable, often lead us astray in life, encouraging us to chase dreams that are not our own, and may even distract us from what truly nourishes us. Being a spirit in the world is about how you bridge the inner and outer worlds. I have always believed that we can live extraordinary lives on the inside even while living “ordinary” lives on the outside. It is more about how we make sense of life, how we handle challenging life dilemmas, and how we treat ourselves and others. The word success comes from the Latin roots meaning “to be next to” or “close to.” Success as a spirit in the world is ultimately about living close to life, about staying true to your self, to the unique flow of life energy that is the essence of you.
Living Close To Life
We once all had eyes to see a New World because we could see from the inside out. A sandbox could be Jurassic Park; tiny toy figures could act out life dramas; a blanket draped over the table could be a secret hideout. We lived each day with fresh eyes in a magic land. That was before the bloodshed of innocence and the sunset of belief in magic. The real world, as we call it, is a harsh partner. We had to put our imagination in a locked box, narrowing the possible to the practical and eventually to the everyday acts of life needed to get a job, make money, pay bills, raise a family, etc. We had to be responsible and make things happen in the “real world.” So, we either lost interest or stopped believing that there could be a greater adventure or that we could actually live an extraordinary life on the inside as we dealt with the mundane realities of life on the outside. In other words, like me in the graveyard with death, we took up residence in a tiny plot of land in our own undiscovered country.
I love roaming in the undiscovered country, cataloguing the birth of wonders and mapping the untouchable terrain. I am excited to share the inner adventure with fellow wayfarers. Putting it on paper is a pleasure in itself, but the real joy is the thrilling ecstasy in the moment of discovery. The nod we give to each other that says more than all the Oxford words. That is why I rely on poetry, on innuendo and parlor play. It is the language of the heartland. Sober ears will find the gravitas even in laughter, having grown up in the cruel world, having forgotten how to get drunk on delight, having been hijacked by the worldly idea of “success.” Here, all that matters is living close to life. Once you know that you have all you need, you become an everyday adventurer. The surface stories slip from the shelf as you begin to wonder: how wide can I open? How deep can I go? How much can I give? This is the calling, the invitation, to step into your own undiscovered country and to wander, wide-eyed and wonder-full, on the landscape of the soul.
