The Meaning of Life
The Meaning of Life is to L O V E.Someone told me I was crazy to try to describe the meaning of life. I replied that I'm not crazy to suggest we can understand the meaning of life; when you think about it, the signs are all around us. First, I'm not going to claim I have all the answers to everything in life. But I do think you can attempt to summarize the meaning of life up in one word: love. This is, at least for me, if not the meaning of life - at least it is a meaning of life. That's why so much of AspireNow is about helping people create, bring, and share more love with others and with things around them.
I once pondered the meaning of life while meditating and praying in the bathtub (yes, I enjoy baths) and it struck me so completely that I sat straight up and got chills for over 15 minutes. I call chills of this sort "angel shivers". A key meaning in life is to love -- it is really that simple.
I'll say it again: LOVE is the meaning of life.
That may be good enough for me but I suppose I should back up my proposition with some facts. Take a look at the message from some of the world's greatest religious leaders:
Jesus from Christianity: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." and "Love your neighbor as yourself." - quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 in Mark 12: 30,31, The NAS Bible.
Buddhism: "To love life through labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secret. All work is empty save when there is love, for work is love made visible."
I could go on, as the "love" message runs throughout just about every religion and form of native belief system.
Another question people often seem to seek in the spiritual life is the search for answers to two existential questions: "Who am I?" and "Why am I?" Gandhi said, "I claim to be a passionate seeker after truth, which is but another name for God." If God is truly love, then when we seek God we consider experiencing more love.
God is within us.
Also, it is important to note that God is within us - which is why I refer frequently to the divine self or higher self; I'm talking about the same thing as God, how most of us define God.
Examples of this fact from religion include:
Buddhism: Look within, you are the Buddha.
Christianity: The kingdom if heaven is within you.
Confucianism: Heaven, earth and human are of one body.
Yoga (part of Hinduism): God dwells within you as you.
Upanishads (part of Hinduism): By understanding the self, all this universe is known
In recognizing that God is within us, and we can love God and each other to have a better life, why would we lie to another person? We'd be lying to our self, in a sense. Why steal from someone? We'd be stealing from our self. The Bible says "God is love." If God is within us then it makes sense we love our self, we love others, and love nature around us. In doing so, we are certainly on the right path.
Why do anything less than everything possible to enjoy life and treat other people lovingly - especially in in our business life? These principles are the roots and foundation of beliefs supporting AspireNow and our mission together.
