What's the Point?

Photo by Morgan Sessions on Unsplash

I’ve talked with so many people who, during these really odd times, are really starting to feel heavy. Tired. Unmotivated. The question, “what’s the point?” has been raised in conversation multiple times. It feels as if there is SO much going on, so many negative forces, and the accompanying question, “is this worth the fight?” has been sighed.

The things to which these questions refer is often quite mundane.

The kid’s room is messy. AGAIN. I just told her to clean it. Is it worth the fight or do I just close the door and walk away? What’s the point of telling her to clean it?

I’ve gained another five pounds. Is it worth the fight, worth the struggle to try to lose it? What’s the point of weighing five pounds less?

The garden has weeds. Is it worth the fight, worth the time to pull them? What’s the point of having a nice-looking garden?

Someone just made an insulting comment on Facebook. Is it worth the fight to call them out? What’s the point if they aren’t going to care?

Racism, climate change, …. Is it worth the fight if no one is listening? What’s the point - should we just let it all burn down?

There are no right answers. There are only the answers you choose.

What you choose creates the reality in which you (and I and all of us) live.

There’s no one else that can tell you which answer to choose, because their answer is, well, … theirs.

It is certainly possible (and helpful and highly recommended) to connect with others who can help you explore the possibilities - beyond judgment. There are authors who have lived through the questions you are asking, friends who are journeying alongside of you, mentors who see it all from a different perspective. There are tools and tips and tricks that these people can offer that can make the journey of asking the questions more enjoyable - and possibly shorten the trip to you finding your own courage and answers. After all, we are co-creating this reality, this life thing.

And.

You have to / get to take responsibility for the choices you are making and the daily life you are creating.

Is this worth the fight? Maybe. It depends.

What’s the point? Maybe there is no point. Maybe the point is that you have to create your point. Maybe pointlessness is the point.

The messy room, the garden, the shape of your body, the ignorance or hatred displayed by another person … what are those things bringing up within your thoughts and body? What can you feel and where can you feel it? How is it influencing your well-being, how is it influencing the well-being of humanity and life as a whole, and how much do you care about that?

No right, no wrong, just exploration.

——

If you’ve made it this far, I’ve given you a LOT to consider. And I want to offer you something in the midst of it all.

There is something that exists beyond words and beyond explanation that is profoundly beautiful. (This might sound woo-woo, but don’t lose me here. Like I said, there isn’t much of a way to explain it.) It is that “something” that is the energy of life, the force that infuses you and me, the indescribable that not only makes it possible but fulfilling to live another day. This force can’t be held, clung to. It comes and goes with the breath, and/but it is with that breath that you can find and feel it more and more frequently.

In the midst of the mundane, this is a practice that can carry you from one question to the next (what’s the point of this and this and this?). This practice is one of mindfulness, of feeling …. life.

I cannot ask strongly enough of you to take on this practice. Pause, listen, just feel. Cry, scream, … and breathe. Find within your cells the wordless beauty that is that force of life.

—-

Again, this might feel like a lot - and in this time of heaviness and lethargy, might be a post that you just brush off.

Don’t run away from it, but don’t become overwhelmed by it either.

Start with a full inhale, full exhale. (Do it. Really. Do it.)

Relax your shoulders, relax your jaw, engage in a full-body stretch. Exhale it out.

Grab a glass of water.

Let go of the fight, let go of the point, and step forward into your next action with an intention to create the world in which you want to be living.