My son and I were driving home on our last evening of vacation in Park City… The beautiful, dark, snow covered mountains guiding our path…
“At night-time, I often wonder, ‘What’s the point?’” He said. “What’s the point of any of this and all of this? Why does anything really matter?”
I let the comment linger. In part, because I know that underneath his questions – he is deeply committed to authenticity, and seeking it in healthy, although often cynical, ways.
I didn’t have a great answer, so I let the question linger… And, we kept driving into the night.
The day before, we had an epic, blue bird day, with fresh powder on snowmobiles that took us to majestic mountain tops… and along the way our guide had shared this about the Aspen trees…
“Did you know that Aspen trees are the second largest organism on the planet? Only second to the great barrier reef! Aspen trees are all interconnected by their root systems. You will never see one standing by itself. They live in colonies and depend on each other for life.”
I had no idea…
On our way to the airport the next morning, as the sun was rising inspiringly over the mountain tops, I shared with him,
“I don’t think you are asking yourself the right question.
I am not sure if there is an answer to ‘What is the point of anything and everything?’…
I think that we are actually like the Aspen.
Human beings are an amazing colony – with enlightened and incredible minds and souls that have created a reality that is awe-inspiring… I would argue, greater even than the Great Barrier Reef (though that may show my ignorance or naivete about the GBR.)
No one Aspen makes the forest. A tree grows, a tree dies… The forest remains.
No one Aspen makes the forest. But, every tree contributes to its existence.
And, we are, in my view, like Aspens, standing on the mountainside…
I don’t know what the point of all of it is… but, I think there are two objectives that make sense, in the spirit of being an intertwined community where despite not acknowledging it enough – we need each other to survive…
1. We get to choose the extent to which we CONTRIBUTE to the overall colony and how. We exist as part of something bigger… And, we get to choose to what level we help the colony survive. We get to choose to what level to contribute so that we can continue to evolve, thrive and expand… Each one of us, as a drop in the ocean, makes a small contribution, and sometimes a big one, to the “Aspens” immediately near us & sometimes we are able to impact “Aspens” way beyond what we can see or know.
2. We get to choose to what extent we find JOY in our little window of life within this colony. Life is beautiful and joyful, and it’s hard, brutal, sad. All at the same time. I don’t know what the point of it all is, but I do know that living with JOY is an option we have. And, living to find joy deliberately in the experience of life itself is, if not a purpose in itself, certainly a worthwhile investment. And, perhaps finding joy is intertwined with the first point above. Perhaps it’s one point and not two… Living to help others live with greater joy, allows us to feel joy ourselves…
I don’t know if that IS the point… or not… but I think those two questions will serve you better…
1. How do I choose to give back to the colony?
2. Where in life do I feel great joy, and how do I expand that into more aspects of my life?”
He nodded his head thoughtfully, “yeah”… and we went back to listening to the music as we neared the airport.
Music is clearly a JOY for him… and a way that I expect (and hope) will be a large part of how he helps our colony of Aspen grow…
Or, maybe it won’t… Time will tell.
Maybe I’m taking the Aspen analogy too far, but as I looked it up on Wikipedia this morning, I read that Aspens don’t grow in the shade… They require a lot of sunshine to live…
I smiled as I thought to myself…
Sunshine…
LIGHT…
Inspiration…
We humans
We don’t do so well in the shade either.
I hope the sun is shining bright on your leaves today…
I still think we are bigger and more interesting than the Great Barrier Reef!
In harmony on the mountain side,
Nestor