I crave experiences of deep intimacy with people, creative collaborations beyond ego, and states of causal or non-dual awareness because they make me feel truly alive. I am graced with these experiences too infrequently to sustain my needs and just frequently enough to make me feel that an ordinary day, in contrast to them, is mediocrity. Waah, waah, poor me, right? First world problems, s h u t – u p!  You don’t have to say it, I’ve said it to myself plenty. Thing is, I have a lot of company, worldwide and across the economic spectrum. People may describe it differently, but the essence of the angst is shared, and deep. There must be a trick to getting this life thing right.

Carving out a simple life eschewing all things modern, or escaping into bliss experiences ring hollow to our souls because we don’t live in a vacuum. We live in the context of global, personal and collective angst and we can’t erase the knowledge that every sector of society is facing extraordinary realities pressuring down on them. We’re facing challenges so daunting that it’s becoming commonplace to hear predictions of human race extinction within 500 years. We can’t escape the real work that needs doing, yet we can’t bear to sacrifice ourselves and our families to more of the same life-sucking work-a-day demands. Save divine intervention, the arduous work before us that just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do, seems the only logical thing that will save us. Now, that’s a predicament to shed some tears over.

So, why I am more often than not drunk on an endless stream of glorious possibilities of the future? Let me share a little something. I’ve had this one, unassuming, joyful experience once or twice a day for what seems like every day of my life. I find that I can’t hold back my grin as I begin to write about it. For anywhere from three seconds to thirty minutes upon awakening and before laying down to sleep, I am lucky to experience a certain excitement, verging on exuberance. If ever I am so tired that I just pass out or in such a stressful rush in the morning that I would miss these moments, I feel a grave sadness. These moments consistently provide me with a salient recognition that I am experiencing a life as a human being. A childlike giddiness comes over me. To hold this perspective of awe and self witnessing is about as remarkable as anything I’ve come to know or experience. Allow yourself to sit in the bizarre beauty that you exist. You have a body, you have thoughts, you use your senses, you have agency to create, to react, intend, and to love. Seriously, how do we miss this ginormous, inspiring, powerful truth? Every day? I don’t care who you are, I promise you that if you sit down with the intention to look at the miracle that is your own existence, you will be overcome with a sense of limitlessness, expansion, love, empowerment, and safety.