Kids are full of wonderful questions: Where do babies come from? Why do people go to war? What is the meaning of life? Why are some people so mean? Which religion is right? Why do people say one thing and do something else? Why do people use drugs if they’re bad for you? What’s the difference between making love and having sex? Why does our job and what we wear matter so much? Why do we let people suffer?
We listen to and try to answer these questions for a while, but at some point we no longer tolerate them. We give defeated answers: Life isn’t fair. That’s just the way it is. Live with it. Because that’s what everyone else does.
I think we get tired and uncomfortable with the uncertainty of these questions and we start to ignore them. We feel helpless in a vast world so we start to conform to the accepted truths of the people around us. Unfortunately, I think we spend a lot of time following each other around even though no one understands where we’re going.
I’m 31 years old, but I’m not ready to give up trying to answer these questions. Just like a child I want to continuing trying to discover the absolute truth. I’m willing to accept that there’s a lot that I don’t know, and probably a lot that I think I know that is wrong. These are humbling but liberating truths. Maybe I’ll be able to inspire others, children and adults alike, to keep searching for answers. I’m glad I’ve discovered Vipassana as a tool to help me find the truth. Time to meditate.
