Why Aren’t You Loving Your Life?

Please excuse me for asking a confronting question, but, “Why aren’t you absolutely loving your life right now?” My guess is that you have some really good reasons, such as “There’s a pandemic going on, I have financial stress, and we have a dysfunctional government.” Perhaps you have many other reasons as well.

I don’t buy it. Our minds can always come up with reasons for not enjoying life, but they are all just made-up excuses. The problem is, we believe whatever excuses or stories rattle around in our heads. When we believe our excuses, we end up missing the fact that life is always given to us anew each moment — and that to be alive on this third rock from the sun is an astounding gift.

Admittedly, I’m not immune from believing the various stories and excuses my mind churns out on an hourly basis. I’m human too. But I’m learning to switch from believing whatever my mind churns out — to seeing my thoughts as just a kind of “radio static” that is not important to listen to. Such an ability has given me the space to appreciate life more.

The human mind has evolved to be on the constant lookout for trouble. This tendency had an evolutionary advantage a couple hundred thousand years ago. After all, the people who were paranoid and constantly on the alert in the past were the first to notice a tiger in the bushes or an attack from members of another tribe…