‘Tis the season for gift-giving frenzy.
Or something like that.
How did our highest aspirations for the bright evolution of the human soul get translated into a desire for more stuff?
I’m going to say that a good deal of it has to do with the way we experience our world.
If we have a sensual experience — one where we’re aware of the spirit that lives in all of what we taste, smell, touch, hear and see – we have quality in our material lives. We have a relationship with living spirit in all its abundant forms.
Sunrise. Birds overhead. The sound of our child crying or, better yet, laughing. The feel of a balmy breeze or icy wind. Cookies baking, fresh horse manure or the dog’s breath in our nose. Those cookies fresh out of the oven, the slippery slice of watermelon, the first morning sip of coffee on our tongue.
If we’re paying attention, there’s meaning and an internal response from us – an interaction with our world. We allow ourselves to be moved.
If we’re not interacting, if we’re just sensing without awareness of the spirit of what we’re sensing, then we’re lacking the quality that makes us feel any lasting impact. We’re still feeling hungry. It’s the Chinese food of experience. Or the endless dance recital, where only the first sparkle of a new costume or soundtrack wakes us up from our stupor. We’re still in the same seat we were in at the beginning of the recital.