Inner Work

For the week of November 10, 2008

Meaningful Life

An endless variety of endeavors can and do bring meaning to our life, from being with loved ones, raising children, and caring for elderly parents, to the pursuit of knowledge, creative acts, serving others through a job or profession, social activism, appreciation of the natural world, simple kindness, the enjoyment of recreation, and so on. For most of us, one or perhaps a few such areas are particularly meaningful. Our problem arises when we do not value the other areas of our life, seeing them as empty, insignificant, and meaningless, as chores to be completed as quickly and with as little personal involvement as possible. The life zones we deem meaningless, be they distasteful or just boring, rob us of opportunity, rob us of our time.

What to do? Can we eliminate those meaningless zones? Not likely. We all have tasks we dislike, but which, alas, are necessary. And by habit, we repeatedly fall into “time-wasting,” unnecessary activities that offer little satisfaction or meaning. We cannot rid ourselves of all that, but we can look for a way to transform those dead time zones into living, breathing engagements with what we do and experience.

Spiritual practice, because of its high purpose of awakening to and serving the Sacred, can fill all these voids of meaning. Training yourself in inner work opens the doors of time to the entry of meaning, by connecting you to timeless values. One of the beauties of inner work consists in its adaptability to any and all situations. So whatever you are doing outwardly, you can engage in spiritual practice inwardly, engage with that ever-present dimension of substance and depth. Take any mundane chore or “time-wasting” zone and bring inner work to the scene. The timeless purpose of spiritual practice carries meaning, significance, and fulfillment into that life arena.

To take that opportunity, we stay alert to those barren zones of our life, to times devoid of meaning, often signaled by the state of our emotions, and we act to transform them through inner work, primarily through the practice of presence, and at times through the practice of prayer. Outwardly nothing may change, but inwardly a new world dawns in every such moment.

For this week, let your spiritual work bestow meaning where more is needed.

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