I've been having a number of discussions recently about the state of the world and where we might be heading.
There's certainly no shortage of things to talk about. Tensions between nations, struggles for power, wars, political agendas and a general feeling that we're living through a period of significant change. It seems that every week brings another development, another disagreement or another reason to question what the future might hold.
Who knows what the next few years will bring?
I suspect there are plenty of people who have their own ideas, predictions and theories, but the truth is that none of us really knows. We can speculate, we can look at history and we can try to make sense of the circumstances unfolding around us, but the future remains exactly that: the future.
It got me thinking about something else.
How much of our lives are we actually giving to things over which we have very little control?
Think about how much time we spend watching the news, following political debates, reading about international affairs and getting caught up in the latest disagreement between people who hold positions of power.
We discuss it, argue about it, worry about it and often carry those worries around with us long after we've put our phones down.
Now, I understand that these things matter. What's happening in the world affects us all, and I'm certainly not suggesting that we should bury our heads in the sand or become indifferent to the circumstances of others.
But there's a distinction worth making between being informed about the world and allowing the world to consume our entire experience of being alive.
The things we cannot control
There are people playing games of power at a level most of us will never have any meaningful influence over.
Decisions are being made in government buildings, boardrooms and places we'll never see. There are competing interests, political ambitions, economic pressures and struggles for influence that have been playing out throughout human history.
We can take sides, express our opinions and debate the merits of one position over another. We can spend hours trying to understand what's happening and what might happen next.
But regardless of how much time we dedicate to it, the world will continue turning. Those struggles will continue whether we're watching them unfold or not. That's where I think we need to stop and ask ourselves a rather important question.
What are we giving up in the process?
Our time, our peace of mind, our attention. Maybe most importantly, our ability to be present in our own lives.
We can spend so much of our precious time worrying about what might happen tomorrow that we completely overlook what's happening today. We worry about the future of the world while missing the little moments that make up the lives we're actually living.
The conversation around the dinner table or the laughter of our children. A walk outside or a cup of tea with somebody we haven't seen in a while. The opportunity to sit quietly, appreciate our surroundings and enjoy being here.
These things might seem rather ordinary, but I wonder whether we've become so accustomed to overlooking them that we've forgotten just how valuable they are.
There's a whole life happening right here, right now, and we can become so preoccupied with everything else that we fail to participate in it.
Living in the material world
From a spiritual perspective, I think there's another dimension to this worth considering.
If we're more than just the physical body, if we're Spirit experiencing this human existence, then surely there's more to our journey than becoming completely absorbed in the struggles of the material world? I've always found the relationship between our physical existence and our spiritual nature fascinating.
We arrive in this world, become immersed in its structures, expectations, responsibilities and conflicts, and spend much of our time trying to navigate it all. We acquire possessions, establish careers, form opinions, develop identities and become attached to all sorts of things that make up our experience of being human.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that. This is the life we're here to experience. But maybe part of the journey is learning to participate in this world without allowing it to completely define us. There's something to be said for stepping back occasionally and looking at the bigger picture.
Who are we beyond our opinions? Beyond our political affiliations, our possessions, our professional identities and the various labels we attach to ourselves?
What does it mean to be alive?
What are we actually doing with the time we've been given?
These aren't questions that can be answered by watching another news broadcast or engaging in another argument online. They require a little introspection, a willingness to turn our attention inwards and a recognition that our existence has dimensions that we don't always give ourselves time to explore.
Bring your attention closer to home
One of the things I've been considering is whether we might be better served by directing a little more of our energy towards the things that are actually within our reach.
We might not be able to influence the decisions of world leaders, prevent every conflict or know what the future holds, but we can decide how we spend our time.
We can decide how we treat the people around us. We can choose to be kinder, more patient and more understanding or invest in our families, strengthen our communities and make a genuine effort to be there for one another.
We can take an interest in the people living alongside us rather than becoming entirely consumed by the actions of people thousands of miles away. We can build relationships, support local initiatives, help somebody who's struggling and make a positive contribution to the lives we actually touch.
We can start paying a little more attention to our own development, too. Read something that challenges your thinking, explore a philosophical idea, pend some time in meditation. learn something new. Question your own assumptions or take an interest in the nature of consciousness, spirituality and what it means to be human.
There's an entire world of discovery available to us.
Remember that we're all human
There's another consequence of becoming too caught up in the divisions of the world. We can start viewing other people through the lens of their opinions rather than recognising them as fellow human beings.
We see somebody's political position, their religious beliefs or the side of an argument they happen to stand on, and suddenly that becomes the defining feature of who they are. But we know people are far more complicated than that.
We're all here, trying to make sense of this experience in our own way. We all have our own histories, circumstances, fears, hopes and aspirations. We won't always agree. We won't always see things from the same perspective, and there will undoubtedly be things on which we hold very different convictions.
But surely we can disagree without losing sight of our shared humanity?
We mustn’t allow the divisions playing out on the world stage to become divisions within our own communities, families and friendships. There is a danger in allowing ourselves to become so invested in the world’s arguments that we forget the people standing right in front of us.
Don't forget to live
I'm not particularly interested in pretending that everything is wonderful or that there aren't serious challenges ahead. I know there are. The world has always had its difficulties, and I'm sure the years ahead will bring plenty more. I don't want to spend my life waiting for things to settle down before I allow myself to enjoy it. I don't want to spend every day worrying about what might happen, constantly looking towards some uncertain future while overlooking the life that's unfolding in front of me. I don't think any of us should.
Whatever happens in the world over the coming years, continue to live fully, learn plenty, explore and grow. Spend time with the people you love. make memories, laugh, have conversations that matter.
Take an interest in the world around you, but don't forget to take an interest in yourself, too.
We spend an extraordinary amount of time thinking about the things we cannot control, while sometimes overlooking the many things where we have a choice.
You have a choice about where you direct your attention. You have a choice about the values you live by, the relationships we nurture and the kind of contribution we make.
I think we ought to make the most of it. If we're here to experience this human life, then surely we owe it to ourselves to actually experience it.
So, by all means, pay attention to the world to understand what's happening. Then question things, challenge ideas and form your own opinions. Just don't become so caught up in the games being played in the world that you forget you're here to live a life of your own.
Don't forget to live.