In the comments on yesterdays post Jon asked me what should be a fairly straight forward question to answer.
"...How do you live the life that you do?... "
On the surface of it, it seems he was simply asking me what I do for a job, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised he was asking much more than that (wether he realised it or not). Thats because to me, my job has very little to do with who I am, and how I live; its just a means to an end. In my working life I have been a programmer, a graphic artist, a fisherman, a photographer, a webmaster, and many other things, but none of these was what I wanted to be. I don't want to be a job, just happy.
I've been pondering how to answer Jon's question all day. I don't think I'll ever be able to answer it fully but there are three things that have helped me find my way to a lifestyle I like.
The first thing is I try to live simply.
I live in a small house, that I rent, which most people would class as a bach (or crib, or hut) with only two rooms. I have a very small circle of friends. I eat simple food (mostly organic and vegetarian these days). I have few possessions (by most standards) and strive to keep it that way (one of the necessities of living in a very small house). I think Nisargadatta Maharaj said it best with this statement: "Spiritual maturity is being ready to let go everything. Giving up is a first step, but real giving-up is the insight that there's nothing to be given up, since nothing is your property."
I have been single for almost all of my adult life, and unlike many people I know, I don't see that as something to be remedied. I have never travelled outside New Zealand and don't feel the need to while there are still corners of my home town I haven't explored yet. I feel there is more right here than I will ever fully discover in a lifetime. I'm not saying there's nothing to see or discover elsewhere, only I don't feel the need to travel worldwide to find wonder.
The second thing is to expand my comfort zone at every opportunity, big or small.
When we feel comfortable, and safe, we risk becoming spiritually stagnant. Wether it is trying a new exotic food, or quitting a career, stepping into the unknown on nothing but a gut feeling, trusting our intuition, is the most uplifting thing we can do. On every occasion I have forced myself to do something new, uninsured, without guarantees, and risky, I have not regretted it. If it turned out like I hoped I won. If it turned out differently, I still won, wether it was through learning a valuable life lesson, or being led to something else entirely that I wouldn't have found through any other path. When I quit my career in computer programming to take a 'boys' job on a deep-sea fishing boat, I not only discovered that I could adapt to anything I throw myself into, but I found the courage to not let myself be defined by a job. I used that courage a few years later to walk off that job, the best paying job I've ever had, to take up freelance photography. I used that same courage to quit professional photography because it was sapping the fun out of my new found passion. So even though deep-sea fishing was not the job for me, it was a valuable part of the journey. When we step outside our comfort zone, it grows.
Now the last thing may seem trivial, but trust me, it is not. Its nothing deep and meaningful, in fact you'll probably find it absurdly simple. To borrow the words of the McGillicuddy Serious Political Party... "Smash yer TV".
I'm serious. Television is a mind numbing, brain washing, energy sapping, WASTE OF TIME. It is second-hand living. I thought I didn't watch much TV when I moved into a house with no TV reception around five years ago. The longer I went without it, the more I realised how needless, and ridiculous it is. Suddenly you have all this extra time on your hands. You'll find time for those hobbies you've always wanted to try, but never had the time. You'll read books. You'll talk to people (not just in the ad breaks). You'll learn to appreciate real silence. You'll begin to notice that other peoples living rooms seem to be arranged in worship of the black box. I realise what my Grandmother meant when she used to call it "the idiot box". On the odd occasion when I do see television now, when visiting, or in stores, it makes me cringe. If there's a TV on in the room I can almost feel it begging me for my attention, trying to drag me in and distract me from the world around me. I challenge you all to not turn on your TV for 1 month and see if you don't agree with me by the end of it. CoffeeWaffle probably would have never come into existence if I still watched TV.
And that's it. A lifetime of wisdom (if you could call it that) packed into one blog entry. Thanks for your inspiring question Jon.
9:05:10 PM 
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