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Episode 346 Meaning in Life
This is Retirement Talk. I'm Del Lowery.
In the last podcast I talked about my moment of enlightenment in Katmandu. I indicated that upon farther consideration I guessed that it wasn't my attempt at explaining what gave meaning to my life that swayed the swami. It was the fact that I had a philosophy that worked for me. Though based in absurdity it did give meaning to my life. It wasn't just that the existentialist that had it figured out but that I had something worked out that worked for me; call it anything you like.
In a tiny nut shell let me give you my thoughts at that time. I threw out the explanation that grew out of the idea that the universe is this big bang of stuff that is going hither and yon at incredible speed and in all sorts of directions. Combining the thinking of Darwin and geological time, life evolved. Gods were an idea that we created out of our need for answers to what we could not explain. As time went on we grew to understand much of what the world was made of, where it came from and where it is going. The gods got picked off one by one. We found Poseidon was not hiding in the ocean and that Zeus did not throw lightening down from the sky. We found ourselves alone on this planet rocketing through space. If there was to be any meaning found to help us through our brief journey we would have to create it, fabricate it, pretend. Or as Nietzsche suggested; we would have to become Gods. We have to give meaning to our own lives.
This condition has been illustrated many times and many ways but the one I like best is the Myth of Sisyphus. Where the poor man is condemned to push this large bolder to the top of a hill each day knowing it would roll back down each night. He had to do this all the days of his life. How could he go on? How could he find joy in life?
We must imagine that the only solution possible was to learn to love the rock. Daily he would lean his check against the rock and push. That was all that he could do. In choosing to love his labor he overcame the condition. It was not punishment. It was what he loved to do - sort of.
My apologies to all scholars. I have shortened all of this up and I must admit to not having read anything about this for the last twenty five years plus. I have been busy with my own rock. I have been busy with what I am up to each day. And I have learned to love it.
When I explained something like this to the good swami, that is when he smiled and we concluded our quest. He said, "We are finished. Now I will show you my katmandu." We went out into the streets. We ate at his restaurant. We visited the untouchables. We visited with a Senator. We went to several temples. In plain words, we chopped wood and carried water.
You can read all sorts of scholarly works to support one train of thought or another. One philosophy or another: one religion or another. This process of giving meaning to ones own life has worked for me.
There was a fairly constant stream of people coming to the good swami for advice or guidance. He lead them all to the library shelves. "You will read" he would command. They would be off on the chase. I came to the conclusion that he really wasn't supporting the existentialist as much as he was supporting a belief system that worked. This is the one I understood and it worked for me. It might work for you. Or a different one might work for you.
Once you get it figured out you can go about important things in life like chopping wood, carrying water, sitting in a chair or climbing a mountain. The untouchables must be considered: the less fortunate must be assisted. He introduced me to a young man who was trying to establish elementary education for the children of the untouchable caste. A caste that was illegal in Nepal but yet very much in evidence. He believed in helping the less fortunate in the world. It worked for him. I like to think it works for me.
It has been over thirty years since the good swami approve my thoughts concerning meaning in life. I guess that was all that I really needed. Approval. I had been on a quest for over thirty years and it did consume a great deal of time and energy. Sometimes that is all we really need: someone to give us permission to be ourselves.
This is Retirement Talk.
If you have questions, comments or suggestions contact: del@retirementtalk.org
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from. A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops. Copyright 2010 RetirementTalk.org |
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