For Our Health: Stop Striving to be Important

"She was not telling me to stop writing, but to stop striving to be important. . . . . . now I know that health resides in restoring direct experience." Mark Nepo

In the above quote, Nepo is referring to something that Helen Luke said to him: "Yours is to live it; not to reveal it."  Nepo says that he had felt prior to this advice, that he was to reveal life through his poetry; but he came to understand that "living is the original art."  This seems something that most humans can learn.  It is so easy to be distracted by many projects (even very important ones), professional achievements, any ways in which we are 'making a name for ourselves', but - perhaps - living IS the original art.  That might mean that we reevaluate what takes up our time and mental energy.  Perhaps we will discover that our goal has been to make ourselves important; instead of living life directly.  Living life directly is -- in my opinion -- hard to do.  It is so tempting to be distracted by our inner thoughts or some exterior stimuli.  Have you tried recently to just be?  To just experience whatever is in front of you -- without judgment or mental chatter?  Let us notice today if we are present to what is the experience of our lives.