A
letter I received:
I am a 14 year old, and thoughts of how small my
life is "in the grand scheme of things" have been plaguing my life
for some time. If you would send me any thoughts you have about the
point of life and personal philosophy, I would be extremely grateful.
Thank you. J
Dear J,
Greetings! Thank you for writing. I apologize for the delay. You ask
a very interesting and pertinent question and sometimes these questions
take time to answer. We are all searching for answers to a lot of
different questions. I recently had a request for my thoughts on regret.
(You can find them on the site in the table of contents.)
Where to begin. I'll start with me. I too feel small sometimes and
still I know that because I am here, I have to have some kind of meaning,
some place in the grand scheme of things. That meaning may not present
itself all the time and may sometimes look very vague. Right now,
I may be the most significant thing in your day as you read and ponder
this. Therefore, I am not small. What I say here may in some small
way change your life and therefore change the world. I find that the
best way for me to have meaning is for me to share and to give of
myself. By sharing, I am contributing to myself, others and the universal
power ("the grand scheme...") and they in turn will share with others
and the cycle continues back to me. It is only when we continue this
cycle that everyone knows in there heart that they are not small and
that they do have meaning. When you stop sharing, you stop the flow,
like stopping the flow of blood in the body. You stop the flow and
that part of the body slowly dies. When you stop sharing, that part
of you slowly dies and you do not feel whole and sometimes start to
wonder what is missing.
I have an idea that you are not small, that you have a lot to offer
the world and those around you. Look for ways to contribute to those
close to you first and than to others as you reach out to the world
that surrounds you. It is a journey, and that journey needs time to
take shape and for you to see the meaning. Remember also to give to
yourself, to give yourself credit for all the good that you do. It
can be as simple as sharing a smile with someone. Saying hello. You
never know who is on the other end of that small gesture and how they
are feeling and how sharing that little smile may change their whole
day.
I also have an idea that sometimes these words may seem like grown
up words and that it is easy to say these things and have these thoughts
when you are older. I have a daughter close to your age and I get
to listen to her concerns and her challenges. I can see there are
not always clear and easy choices in how people treat you and when
you look hard, at how you treat others. There is a lot of pear pressure
in the world and that can be a difficult thing to deal with at times.
Know that you do have the strength to handle these situations. The
world does not give you anything that you can not handle.
Here is a little exercise. Stop for a moment and close your eyes.
Take a deep breath, hold it for a moment and than leave it out slowly.
Repeat if you need to, to center yourself. Now with your eyes closed,
imagine you are standing on a hill top looking out over the land.
Embrace everything that is there. Imagine the wind gently blowing
in your face and hair. It is ruffling your clothes softly. Feel the
forces of nature all around you. Feel how alive that feeling is. How
the energy in the wind is transformed into your body. How that wind
in your face is part of you. Look as far into the distance and see
that everything that you can see is part of you. Feel that in your
whole body. Now, know that that energy, that vision, is you. Know
that that energy and you are one. That you and all things are one.
That you and all people are one. Just as that wind is sharing with
you and gives you energy, you too in turn share with the wind.
Another exercise that you may wish to try is to get a notebook and
a pen and put them next to your bed. At night before you go to bed,
write in the notebook the things that you are grateful for in each
day. I am sure that you can find at least one thing to write. The
goal is to write at least five things each night. As you write in
this notebook, notice how these things will change over time. You
will find that there are more things to be grateful for each day and
the more you share of yourself, you become more grateful for who you
are and your relationship with the rest of the world.
One more thing, in order to have a more rounded view of life, you
also need to Listen. Listening has many forms. Listen to the words
others are saying. Listen to what their heart is saying. And listen
to what your heart is saying. Listen to the words you are saying and
how they reflect who you are. The grateful notebook is a way of listening
for what you have that is good. Acknowledge that you are more than
small and that you are a part of a whole that is great and good.
As for the point of life, for me, the point is in the giving that
makes everything great. I have an idea it is about being. Being who
you are. Being what makes you unique and sharing that being with the
rest of the world. That is why my site is called "being", and it is
a .net because it is a network of being that makes the universe a
better place.
I have an idea that your point in life is to be you, J. By being who
you are, you will share that with the world and the world will grow
and be a better place.
