Two Roads Diverged in a Wood

i wrote last week about what it means when i say "i have a precious human life."  the sentence that follows in the opening of my morning meditation is "may i not waste it."  this past week i've been thinking about what that means.  how does one waste a precious human life?  there are so many answers!

the key to them all, i think, is found later in my meditation when i recite the four noble truths.  understanding that suffering is common to us all and that suffering is caused by our clinging and craving leads us to a path that makes our lives worthwhile.  as we become more aware of our clinging to things that are destined to change or disappear and craving that which we do not have, our journey through this life is directed toward a more rewarding and less wasteful road.

one doesn't find happiness by chasing after it.  it is there all the time if we stop to recognize our constant pursuit of it through our clinging to those things which we think make us happy but are subject to change just as everything is and our craving things that will make us happy but only lead to more craving once we possess them.  the very process of clinging and craving, of pursing happiness, is detrimental to that thing we desire most, lasting happiness and real purpose.  letting go is how we stop wasting our lives, i think.

ending our clinging and craving is difficult, perhaps impossible.  we always wish that life were different, that loved ones didn't get sick and die, that financial problems didn't arise, that things didn't break, that harsh words were never uttered.  yet all these things inevitably happen.  they are part of the fabric of life, and no amount of wishing will cause them to cease.  but wishing these realities away won't solve the problems arising from them, the suffering they cause us.  the only solution is to face them and deal with them as intelligently and with as much compassion as we can.  in the face of our suffering, recognition that clinging to a past before suffering arose and craving a different outcome than the one that is our reality helps us to accept the suffering and learn from it.  we change our path from wasting our energies on that which cannot be or cannot be again to one of accepting what is and coming to terms with it.

may we not waste our precious human lives by clinging to that which will change despite our clinging or by craving that which cannot satisfy us.  may we let happiness come to us as we let go of our pursuit of it.  shalom.