This Precious Life

This idea of a precious life, such a quint and perhaps trite idea, when wrapped up with all the busy-ness and stressing about thinking we are getting somewhere, perhaps closer to some sense of security. Only to turn around farther on down the track to realize the habitual view of, well, a busy life. All this busy-ness and we aren’t really going anywhere. Distraction, a click, a dial, a buzz or nearly anything to distract form the monotonous drown of the days going by. So from this perspective, the precious life is just a passing thought when called to mind by a passing hallmark card. But, I would like to venture deeper, because like you, I seem to understand that it is precious, and it’s often lost on me. In my experience, it comes down to attention. Our ability to continually came back to calling to mind a view of this life, a view for each of us. This takes effort, that’s where I get lost. You of course might understand how busy I am with all the preparations for…. well, think a squirrel gathering nuts, yeah, I’m busy like that. Only I don’t know exactly why. I mean a knowing that is beyond the shiny object that I am striving for. In the end, none of that will mater. What will mater in the very end is that I had a precious life, did I realize it? Did I capitalize on that simple understanding? that in the end, this will be the question. So, it’s quite simple, so simple it’s right in front of each of us. It’s this next moment. We have the opportunity to engage in it asking the question of how will I want to have lived my life? What will have mattered? and in this next moment, practice engaging in that way. Showing up with curiosity to see if it fits, to see if how I open or close to this next moment. When I make my final passing, I would like to pass fearlessly, with an open, warm, wild heart and a calm and cool mind. A smile that gently passes my face, naturally, as a result of being lived in a precious way.