The Meaning of Life

About once a year, one or more of my closest friends will get a call from me in which I say, "I have discovered the meaning of LIFE!" Last year it was simply, "ENJOY LIFE."

This year it was, "THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS IS TO ALLOW ONESELF TO BE HAPPY."

My lovely insights are so true and liberating, and last about a day. Until the inner critic, false self, ego, bad angel, whatever you wish to call it, takes over again in my head to eclipse what is in my heart. Sigh.

The knowledge of evil is what stole Eden from us. The more that we can keep our minds in stillness, and innocence, and the more we focus on the beauty of the earth, rather than the pain of the world, the more we will allow life to bring us enjoyment, happiness and peace.

It's simple. But it's not easy. Could it be that happiness is a spiritual discipline?

Receive

Writers are givers - we hope to influence, uplift, encourage, entertain, beautify. Yet we must also learn to receive.

We assume we know what the words we use mean, but often words have fuller, deeper meanings than we suspect. I wished to understand more about receiving, so I looked up the word receive in my trusty, thick, vintage Webster's Encyclopedia of Dictionaries.

The scientific meaning of receive is "a vessel in which spirits are distilled to essence." Fantastic, right?

As writers we are receiving the spirit, distilling it to essence, and passing it on. When our readers receive our words, they are doing much the same. It is beautiful to contemplate.

So, is the spirit the muse? Is nature the muse? Where does inspiration (meaning, literally, breath) come from?