Sincerity

Credibility

Trust

Love

Understanding

Patience

Awareness

Peace

Do any of them matter? When greed, hate, animosity, jealousy, and anger all exist, why do we have anything else? Why not just let it all go to shit and let everyone kill themselves? Why do the good hearted persist? What do they have to prove besides to themselves? Is there any point in trying to change another person’s mind? Why do we endure suffering in our own lives and the lives around us? With the understanding that our lives aren’t important, that we are just one piece of the puzzle, it feels that IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER.

Well, I’ve asked myself these questions, and to be honest; no one fucking knows. We are here to learn lessons, to experience the precious nature of life, to experience love, and to eventually reach enlightenment. Otherwise, this shit is just depressing. When you’ve let go of greed for material possessions, when you’ve released all your animosity towards others, when you have forgotten what jealousy feels like, when you’ve shed your anger like dead skin, then what do you have left to do? Developing yourself seems like the right choice, but is it worth it?

Does it make sense to take the time to learn skills, gain knowledge, develop your talents, share with others, and be a light unto the world? Will any of it ever be appreciated? Does it matter if it is appreciated? The best answer is: IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER.

The good ones, the bright souls, the pure hearted, the lovely beings, the artists, the weirdos… they all realize one vital fact: that IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER what we do. We could go around killing people, stealing money and goods, being rude to everyone around us, but we DON’T. Why the hell not? The ruling elite seem to be having such a good time right? We should definitely aspire to be like them shouldn’t we? Let’s just spend our lives working dead end jobs, accumulating possessions we will never use, building someone else’s dream while forgetting about ours until we are too old to even care, paying off our debt that we incurred while trying to learn how to succeed in the ‘real’ world, and forget about all the issues that are really important to us, just so that we can survive while the elite are thriving. They want us to keep working, keep struggling, keep sweating, keep bleeding, keep fighting, keep dying. It feeds them. It builds their palaces and their yachts. It fills their stomachs and their bank accounts. It gives them more and leaves us with less. But less what? Less of the bullshit that exists for us to waste our lives away trying to achieve. Wake up! IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER.

If it doesn’t matter, why keep going? Out of pure selfish ambition to create something to be seen by the world? If that were the case, every artist would have killed themselves long ago, because as most of them know, getting someone to look at and appreciate your art the way you do takes years and years. You’ve failed a thousand times before one brief moment of what you view as success. So why then? Why keep trying? Why keep failing for just one moment? That’s what most of these souls will tell you is the beautiful struggle. This life seems to gain some sort of purpose when you create something. You all of a sudden can’t sleep, can’t eat, can’t think, until what is inside your mind, inside your being, is channeled out into physical form. Then, suddenly, it all makes sense. You have a moment of clarity. You realize what art means to you and what you may have been placed here to do. It doesn’t matter if you believe in God, Allah, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or the Big Bang, we can all agree that when you pour your heart and soul into something that is beautiful and worth spending all of your time on, that your life starts to mean something. Not just to you, but to those around you. You become a beacon of light. Your message doesn’t have to be clear right now, not even to you. Rather, you just know that you are receiving a message, and you can do nothing but work until you’ve decoded it and translated it for all the world to hear.

Then what happens? Well, it all just might start to make sense. Now you start to see why none of it matters. All the crap that is force fed to us through advertisements, TV, the news, and the internet, IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER because it’s a distraction. It’s something that was created, for better or for worse, to draw you away from your purpose so that you can work like a slave to realize someone else’s. When you spend your money on shit you don’t need, rot your brain watching television, stuff your face full of nasty processed and genetically modified food, you are doing exactly what someone else wants you to. To truly think for yourself, to do what is right, to live a moral existence, to live in service to others, to spread joy and love and light through your actions and your passion- THAT is what matters. The rest of it is fabricated reality to keep your eyes blind to the truth: that you can achieve whatever you want. That you can serve any god you want. That we are all the same and are here for the same reason; to learn from each other and to discover ourselves. And we are here to do it with LOVE. Love is the glue that ties it all together. It is the intention behind every action that spreads light and awakens the sleeping giant inside another’s soul. It is what can empower any person on Earth to realize their full potential and to stop at nothing to reach it.

So what do we do about all the other shit? The anger, the hate, the greed, the animosity, the jealousy? FORGET IT! IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER. Drop it from your life and see what can happen. Focus on learning, appreciate life, give love to yourself and others, and continually let go of anything attaching you to this existence. That’s the lesson here, and what I want to spend a little time sharing advice on that may help you in realizing what truly does, and does not matter in this short time we have on Earth.

Let Go of Material Possessions

This one really speaks for itself. If it isn’t useful, then why do you have it? Because it looks cool? Because it was a good deal? Because someone told you that you should buy it? All of these are poor excuses for just having TOO MUCH SHIT. I’ve reduced my life to 2 suitcases and a tote, and some days I still feel like I have too much. Tomorrow, starting from the moment you wake up, take inventory of everything you use. Whether it’s a toothbrush, a comb, a blender, your car… whatever. Then at the end of the day, compare that to what you have in your house or apartment. Do this for a week and then compare. Then consider for a moment how much of that crap you haven’t used for more than 6 months, and if you don’t need it for the changing seasons (if the climate actually requires it), then GET RID OF IT. Go to Goodwill, sell it on Craigslist, or just put it on the street corner. Someone who wants it more will come grab it, but you can start to reduce your reliance on THINGS and start living a life of real substance.

Release Your Animosity for Others

“Drop the hate, forgive each other.” That’s all you really have to do. Start forgiving those that have wronged you. Stop blaming others for your mistakes. Stop asking ‘why me’ and start taking responsibility for your actions. Any great spiritual leader will tell you that ‘to err is human, but to forgive is divine.’ You become closer to godliness by releasing the feelings of animosity and realizing that everyone is doing their best. No one is trying to piss you off. No one is doing it just to hurt you. Stop acting like it and let it go. Drop the hate, and start forgiving each other!

Forget About Jealousy

The ugly green monster. Envy for what another has or is. Coveting thy neighbor’s… whatever. It doesn’t matter what you want to call it, jealousy can creep up inside any one of us. Especially when there is so much inequality in the world, pining for another or for a way of living is bound to happen. Accept this and realize that everyone’s life is different. Even the people who seemingly have it all still struggle. They still suffer. They still bleed. Just because they have more than you doesn’t mean they should be happier than you. So take stock of what you have in your life to be grateful for, and start appreciating it! Start celebrating it! You will encourage others to do the same and help inspire a culture of giving instead of taking. Greed, lust, and selfishness will begin to diminish from your life, as well as those around you. Who cares what your neighbor has? You have everything that is in YOUR life, so you might as well make the best of it!

Shed Anger from Your Being

Whether you are like the Hulk or the passive aggressive snide commentator, you probably experience anger on the daily. What causes anger? It’s the reaction to the difference between your expectation and reality. When you set unrealistic expectations for a date, for a day at work, for a homework assignment, or anything else for that matter, you are setting yourself up for an angry outburst or just causing yourself undue stress. Stress and anger go hand in hand. To reduce stress from your life, try a little tactic I call “preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.” It may sound morbid, but it can change your entire outlook on life. Understanding that everything happens for a reason, and that you cannot control the Universe will help you see that we can are meant to learn from every situation. Nothing should be viewed as good or bad, but rather as a stepping stone to whatever is next in your life. The only thing you can control is your reaction to what happens, and the best way to do that is to be prepared for whatever life throws at you.

Learn Every Lesson

Everything that happens to us every single day is a blessing, whether it is clear to you at first or not. Simply being alive is a miracle in of itself. The conditions for life on this planet are simply too perfect not to experience every moment as a complete and utter gift. Why waste it being a victim? Instead of focusing on why you are suffering, why you aren’t reaching your goals, why you are ‘stuck’ in life, try focusing on what you can learn from everything that happens to you every day. Someone was rude to you at work? Say “what did I do to make them behave this way?” Realize that everyone is a reflection of yourself, and so they can each teach us something. Slow down, sniff the roses when they catch your eye, listen to your heart, and try to see the meaning behind it all. Life is so beautiful when you just take a moment to appreciate how wonderful it is to be here on Earth. When you can do this, you will see the subtle gifts and opportunities for learning that life gives us every second.

Appreciate Life’s Subtleties

I already touched on it, but it is so important to slow down and smell the roses. We are all so hell bent on the next event, the next cigarette, the next sexual encounter, the next episode of “American Idol,” the next football game, that we lose sight of what we are doing in our daily lives. Why are we doing this to ourselves? It’s madness! Daily life should be cherished, not shunned and pushed out of memory by drinking ourselves into a stupor every weekend. If you hate your job, then QUIT! I’m not here to give you career advice (at least in this post), but the point is that you have the control to change your situation if you really want to. It really can be more enjoyable struggling for a place to sleep and food to eat then it can be in a soul-sucking office job. Live your passion, and do it every moment of every day. If you enjoy your job, then focus on the parts of it that you love! Talk to your boss about how to do MORE of that! Whatever it is, just do the things you love all the time, and appreciate every little moment you get to experience, because you never know when it could all fade away in an instant. Remember to always be thankful for your time here and to look for the hidden lesson or meaning. This will help to fill your being with love and light that can be shared with the world.

Spread Love & Light

The most important thing you can do for the world. Whether it’s your enemy, your loved one, a passing fly, the grass in your front lawn, or even your laptop, give it love and light! Remember that we are beings of light energy (it’s science) and we exist in this physical form because of the power of love. Nothing else is keeping us here. Our sole purpose is to learn this lesson. It’s the ultimate understanding of the Universe. Everything else is just details. The name of your god doesn’t matter, the scientific method doesn’t matter, your clothes don’t matter, your relationships don’t matter, all of IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER without love and light. Without light we have darkness. Without love we have nothingness. If the Universe was only filled with hate, then we would have killed each other off a loooonnnnggg time ago. So BE the light unto the world. SHARE the love within your heart. Give every being and every object every ounce of love and light that resides within your being, for when you do, you expand the capacity of the Universe for these things and thus expand the capacity within yourself. You can only experience MORE love and light when you give it all away. It grows. It never diminishes. It only fades away with hate, fear, or anger. Remove these from your life, and start giving love and light to everyone and everything around you.

Detach

The final step is to let go. Stop worrying about the outcome. If you don’t do it today, be thankful that you made it to your bed for a good night’s sleep. Appreciate every experience. Learn every lesson. Drop the anger, drop the jealousy, drop the hate, forget about your stuff. This is detachment. Do your best every single day, send love and light to all those around you, and see the hidden beauty of this miracle we call life and you will reach true happiness. You will see the path to Enlightenment. You will break the cycle. You will end your suffering. You will reach Nirvana, Heaven, bliss, Paradise… whatever you want to call it, you will be there. The first, and the last step to getting there is when you realize that IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER.

I leave you with a short clip that inspired this entire post. From the movie “Meatballs” with one of my favorite actors of all time, Bill Murray, this sums it all up. Namaste.