The Rarest Thing

“To live is the rarest thing in the world.  Most people exist, that is all.”  (Oscar Wilde)

Are you really living your life?  Finding joy in small things, peace in unexpected moments, happiness for no reason….

Or are you merely existing?  Going through the motions with no sense of purpose or fulfillment, leading a life of quiet desperation, existing for tomorrow or reminiscing about the past….

Here’s another way to look at this:  In any given moment, are you contracting or expanding?  Contracting feels like pulling away from others, resisting life, avoiding emotions and experiences, pulling into your shell to avoid life.  Expanding feels like connecting to others, embracing life, feeling your emotions, and openly participating in life’s experiences.

The actual physical activities of your day do not matter much…what matters is your internal state as you take part in your day.  Do you see the wonder in everyday, mundane things?  Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.”  Do you see the miracles in your life?

When babies are small and they don’t grow sufficiently, we call that “failure to thrive”.  But I see this in adults all the time — a failure to really live, to thrive, to blossom. 

Take a moment to reflect on your own life.  Into which of these categories does it fit? 

Living / Expanding / Thriving

OR

Existing / Contracting / Failing to Thrive

Now take this new insight that you have just gained and go forward with it.  If you are living, congratulate yourself!  And look for even more ways to enhance your experience of life.

If you are existing, challenge yourself to open up to life’s potential and possibilities, to break out of your box, and to expand out into life more fully.

“Surely, life is not merely a job, an occupation; life is something extraordinarily wide and profound, it is a great mystery.” (Jiddu Krishnamurti)