Life is a Mystery: Lose Your Mind So You Can Appreciate It

If you're reading this, more than likely you'll be moved by the movie, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior," based on the book by the same name, written by Dan Millman. Both the book and movie make a particular statement: Life is a mystery. Stop trying to figure it out. This may frustrate some people; but, let's look at what it means. We might seek, in each moment, to understand more than we did in the last one; but the universe is so expansive, as well as is an on-going mystery, we could spend a lot of time focused on our analysis of it rather than on our experience of it.

If we allow the universe to remain a mystery, how does this affect us? It means we allow ourselves to observe and respond to the mystery. In each moment. As it happens.

There's lots written and discussed about being present in the moment, but how is that accomplished? Use the questions Socrates posed to young Dan: Where are you? Here. What time is it? Now. How often do we focus on what happened prior to the moment we are in, even by five minutes, or may happen in the future? I pondered this during a walk and asked, "If this were my last moment, where would I want my attention placed?"

Would I want to be so engaged in a thought about something not currently happening, I fail to see the bus before it runs over me, and avoid it? Would I want it to be on birdsong? How the sun feels on my skin? The flowers blooming nearby? How the person walking towards me responds when I smile and say "Good morning?"

If our attention is not on the moment we are in, we are not fully engaged. Socrates told Dan he needed to lose his mind so he could find his warrior self. I considered how many times I head out the door to a destination. Am I focused on what's going on around me? When I eat, are my thoughts on the flavors and textures or do I consume each bite without full attention? What about where thoughts are when physically intimate? If we focus on anything other than the "journey," we are not in the moment. That moment is truly the only one we have. We can experience it or waste it.

Since seeing the movie and re-reading the book after so many years, when I find myself thinking about something or, more specifically, dwelling on it, I ask myself, Where am I? Here. What time is it? Now. This doesn't mean I don't take time to contemplate things that need thought. But when I take this time, it's now far more deliberate. It reminds me to decide on and risk appropriate action for myself rather than re-hashing or juggling the litter in my mind.

Practice these questions. Do this without judgment should you find your mind elsewhere but where you are. Appreciate that you focus your attention in this way. Feel the shift from automatic pilot into full engagement. Full engagement allows you to embrace your experiences. Don't live in your mind. Live in your life. Try it for a day; then, try it for a lifetime.