Indrayani shared a beautiful children’s book. It is a version of Tolstoy’s old tale, The Three Questions.
“When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do?” Most of us have either read the story in one version or another, or spent incredible amounts of personal pondering on similar prospects. What is the meaning of life?
That is a huge concept, and the answer isn’t always satisfying to the soul. When I was 29, I felt a terrible angst about my life (decades later, I discovered the concept of Saturn Return, which explained the tension). I hadn’t accomplished anything; I was incredibly dissatisfied with what I was giving back to the universe. I felt lost and helpless, like there wasn’t a big plan.
Conceptually consider this: I was 29. I finished college at 22. I had a four year teaching degree. I had a one year certificate in Early Childhood Education. We lived in our second house, having sold the first one for nearly double what we paid for it. I had been married eight years and had two successful preschoolers (as successful as a preschooler can be). Yet, I was looking around for the point.
When I shared my feelings of inadequacy with my mom, she basically said “What if the meaning of life isn’t something big?” I felt … appalled? Slapped? Hurt? Misunderstood? My mom was wonderful, always supportive and such a beautiful soul. When I share stories like this, it is because there are, maybe, a handful of them in more than forty years of experiences together.
The meaning of life as defined by the three questions (spoiler alert) are: The best time is now. The most important people are the ones in your present moment. And the right thing to do is to do this moment right here in the best way possible. So, synopsis, be in the moment. Does that mean Mom was channeling Tolstoy? Probably.
micheleplumbstowell.org 