In an age of distraction, what are we focused on? In our country, with the twenty four hour news cycle, we are have been bombarded for the last 25 years with a constant spin of ideas and reasons why this person did this thing or that thing with no real understanding of what is really going on. We are now in a post truth age, where we really cannot trust any of the information given to us. In this post, I want to consider how we can find clarity in the chaos by focusing on the spiritual practices of being present, finding meaning and engaging in wonder.
Recently, I challenged my congregation to engage in the active art of seeing. As my reader, I challenge you to do the same.
Being Present
I like to think of being present like this – we all like to receive gifts and new (positive) opportunities. Being present means celebrating the gift of now and sitting with excitement and wonder for the present moment.
I am horrible at being present and staying focused. As a lifelong sufferer of ADHD, my mind can wander in a nanosecond. It can take a lot of effort to stay on task and now a days with a smart phone, it is a constant struggle. “Being present” just means your mind and body are in the same place at the same time. Another way to think of being present is being intentional. When I was working on my second Master’s, I would often set a timer for 45 minutes and work and then spend 15 minutes doing something else, usually playing with the kids if they were around, this intentionality offered a deeper experience and better insight into the work I was completing. It is a myth to think that you have to stop all your thoughts to be present, this is just a common myth.
Finding Meaning in Meaningless
As I was thinking about this section, two philosophers came to mind: Nietzsche and Camus. Nietzsche believed that instead of looking for comfort in big, abstract ideas, we should focus on embracing life, pushing ourselves to grow, and finding our own strength. On the other hand, Camus talked about how life can feel confusing because we want things to make sense, but the world doesn’t always cooperate. He called this feeling “the absurd.”
One of the things that has hit me the hardest as I have grown up is growing out of long held cultural ideals and patterns of belief handed down by society and my family. The further one gets in their education, the more aware one is of the many myths that shape our beliefs.
In the 20th and now 21st century, many people have turned away from traditional sources of meaning, like religion, and began to question what really gives life purpose. As belief in religion faded and science became more important, a lot of people started feeling skeptical and unsure about where to find meaning.
While we think of the idea of the crisis of meaning as a fairly new concept, Nietzche and Camus both wrestled with the idea that life might not have any built-in purpose, but they each offered their own way of dealing with it.
Nietzsche believed that after the “death of God” (meaning, when people stopped relying on religion for answers), it was up to each person to create their own values and sense of purpose. He encouraged people to rethink what they believe, to push past feelings of emptiness, and to find new ways to make life meaningful through their own strength and creativity.
Camus, on the other hand, talked about the “absurd”—the conflict between our natural wish for life to make sense and the reality that the universe doesn’t always cooperate. Instead of giving up, he suggested that we should bravely face this reality, live with awareness, and find meaning in simply being alive, even if life itself doesn’t give us clear answers.
Never Letting Go of Wonder
I have written several times on the practice of wonder in our spiritual walk. As a dad who has almost finished raising kids, while I do not miss some of the challenges of raising kids, I do miss the sense of wonder my kids had especially when they were young. I think I will forever love a child’s sense of wonder. I love the endless questions of an eight year old and I love the deep philosophical inquiries of the newly abstract thinking fourteen year old.
While I was never a complete fan of Curious George, I enjoyed reading these stories to my girls when they were little. Curious George has been with us for eighty six years and has never been out of print. I think this is in part because we all have a small part of us that never lets go of wonder and curiousity, George the monkey teases that childhood memory out of all of us.
Curious George teaches us that maintaining a sense of wonder, curiosity, and openness to the world is essential not only for children but for adults as well. His adventures remind us that, even in the face of uncertainty or a lack of clear answers—as discussed through the ideas of Nietzsche and Camus—embracing curiosity can lead to growth, creativity, and unexpected joy. Like the philosophers who encourage us to find our own meaning or bravely live with the unknown, Curious George shows that approaching life with genuine wonder helps us stay engaged, resilient, and open to the possibilities that each day brings.
To Close
The world is a weird place and has been for a while. I really liked being an ignorant and naïve child where my only wonder was what I was going to do the next morning and if my sister ate the last bowl of frosted flakes. To live more fully, we must suspend our preconcieved notions of “should”, “must” and “ought” and let our presence become aware of our present. We are taught by the Stoics that it is only our attitude about the situation, not the situation itself that can dictate our experience. Knowing that this is not the worse it has ever been and choosing wonder and curiousity helps me get through some of the absurdity I am observing on a daily basis.
It will be okay, to figure out how, cultivate these lessons in your daily walk and see what happens.
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