Recently, I wrote this…
Life takes on meaning not because of what we are told or precepts we are taught, but because of what we choose to do. The meaning of life is non-existent. The meaning in life is what you make it.
As I’ve considered the concept of Deeper Living (what it is, where you find it, how to make it, etc.), I’ve become convinced that it isn’t a destination or a objective to be achieved. Instead, it’s a moment by moment choice.
It’s a conscious decision to make everything a significant undertaking.
Washing the dishes can add tremendous meaning to life; preparing a meal can be a significant event; making the bed can be like a sacrament…if I want it to be.
The secret is in the mindset.
The Garbage Mindset
If I want something as mundane as taking out the garbage to be meaningful, I can simply decide that it will be and go about that task with grace and reverence. I can focus on how grateful I am that someone comes by the house and takes my waste away so I don’t have to see or smell it.
I can feel real gratitude that someone is willing to do this job and cares enough to keep doing it week after week. I can hold that faceless person up in my thoughts and send good-mood-electrons his way.
I can feel happy about only having to wheel the bin to the street and then back again instead of living with it beside my bedroom like a lot of people on our planet do. And suddenly it occurs to me: taking out the garbage brings all of this significance to my little life.
And I am grateful to be taking out the garbage.
In this way, it’s possible to make almost anything we do a meaning-filled experience.
What can you make into a meaningful experience? Tell me about it in a comment below or on G+.
