If you take a look around you, when you have the time, what do you see?  I see my favorite possessions, pictures of loved ones smiling back at me from within the confines of pretty frames.  These images are frozen in time, and yet they give constant comfort, and remind me of unconditional love.  Other items which take up weight and space in my living environment are, my one hundred year old jelly cupboard from Harmony, Pennsylvania, a hand thrown pottery collection, an antique table with marks and scars from other generations of use, my desk and computer, that keep me involved in the precious lives that are thousands of miles from my embrace, but available via the internet and my trusty Logitech camera.

Other trappings from a life that is lived, surround me.  Objects, stuff and dust catchers that have given me pleasurable moments or comfort from an aesthetic and visual perspective; and yet, often, I feel like a hollow being, as T. S. Elliot would say.

Where and What is Mecca?

Working hard to pay for these things has taken its toll, and I‘ve come to realize that it’s time to look inward and not outward for peace, contentment and happiness.   My friends and even my fellow worker-bees think about and often discuss their attempts to find Mecca, or their individual ideas of what is utopia.   We all describe it as being made up of positive feelings, rather then being a destination of bricks and mortar purport, a condition or mental state wherein fun, joy, laughter, love, lasting relationships, and yes that ever-evasive tranquility of the soul, resides.

At lunch time, our fearless leader, George said, “I pack my weekend free time with sports events, working on my boat, or spending time with family and friends; but by Sunday night, I feel drained, and empty.  I’m missing something, but what?”

How to Simplify

The most intelligent and insightful members of our working group, who have found contentment, advised George to simplify his life by:  spending less, organizing his work and home space, and making his life both inwardly and outwardly more peaceful.  By removing these obstacles, they insist, he will be happier.

I took their suggestions seriously and re-organized my work and home space, personal possessions, and also, the clutter which I repurposed or gave to charity.  I’ve cut back too on work commitments that left me with no down time, and social obligations that required more energy than interest. George, too, has done the footwork and we both have more time and less stress outwardly.  We have decided to get and stay physically fit, watch our diets, and get more rest.

Now What?

One question remains?  Now What?  George has decided to become more grateful for his life, by helping others.  He volunteers and trains jobless people to do computer work such as blog writing, online clerical and billing work, programming, web design and much more.

Meditate for Well Being

We both meditate.  George uses the focus method in which you concentrate on the area of the middle forehead as a pathway to your spiritual center.  He imagines himself surrounded by an inner light and listens for sounds of well-being.  George has found simplicity and inner peace through both the process of simplifying his outer life and getting in touch with his spiritual inner space.  He no longer lives from event to event, or fills his life with stuff.  He is happy with himself on many levels.

I like insight meditation, and find it to be my “what now” answer and it makes my existence simple and more peaceful.  It not only helps me stay focused, insight meditation helps me to relax and stay focused. I make at least 10-15 minutes each day for gentle breathing exercises.  Tension and stress leave me when I meditate.  Possessions have less importance, and I no longer crave more stuff.  Silence was a missing element in my life, and finding it every day, lets me fill myself with lasting peace.  I now enjoy being not just doing.