Compass of the Times 218

Compass of the Times 218

Going on Adventure in Life

Keiko Takahashi


Life Is an Adventure

It has been a month since the start of the new fiscal or academic year in Japan, and many of you are probably getting used to your new daily schedule.

Or, some of you may be facing difficult situations in a new environment, one that you have never experienced before.

The long-lasting COVID-19 pandemic has made trials in life to become an everyday experience. Being impacted by the pandemic, you may be facing a reality that you cannot manage on your own.

When our environment changes, the circumstances surrounding us also drastically change, which in turn may lead us to face unexpected situations. Our reality is full of such new trials and new challenges.

And, if we think about it for a moment, our life itself is made up of such new trials and challenges.

Indeed, we exist as a soul who has experienced life many times over. And yet, the life we have now has many first times. No matter how many humans live in this world, each person’s life is different from everyone else’s. In the same way, no matter how many different lives a soul has had, no soul has lived the same life as it has now.

For everyone, the life they have now is their first one, and they will never have the same life again. This means that everyone is living a life that they are experiencing for the first time.

Such a life is nothing but an adventure for each and every one of us.

To Escape the Gravitational Sphere of Life

Life is an adventure. Why can we say this is so? It is because our life not only is what we experience for the first time but also has many challenges which may never, in a lifetime, all be completed.

Ever since we were born, we learn how to live based on a sense of physical pleasure and pain. This is an essential system that allows us to live in the world, but at the same time, it makes our way of life extremely materialistic.

We all rely on our physical sense of safety or peril to categorize everything into pleasure or pain. We are elated by the stimulus of pleasure or are depressed by the stimulus of pain, ending up repeating the oscillation of these states of mind. When such a way of life becomes the norm, all we can think about is to remove pain from what we face and draw in pleasure. What a pity it will be if that is all we seek in life.

It is the gravitational sphere of life that is created by life itself, so to speak. As long as we remain in that gravitational sphere, we will not be able to experience the true joys of life, nor will we be able to attain the spiritual state and wisdom that we must gain in our life. As long as we stay there, we will never know the true brilliance of life itself.

If we think about it for a moment, it is obvious that we grow and evolve through bitter, painful, sad, and difficult experiences. To gain what is truly valuable, we must overcome difficulties. We must experience a way of living in a new dimension that is not the extension of our past ways and become a new person who surpasses their previous selves.

Only when we escape the gravitational sphere of life can we discover and embody the truth of life.

Adventures in Life

That is why I ask you to always remember the basic premise, that is, life is an adventure. What we can do is to accept and savor to the fullest the adventure called life, which was given by this world and its many opportunities, with excitement.

We must accept everything as Chaos1, access the blueprint2 that breathes within it, and open the way to make it a reality.

This month, I would like you to think about such an adventure in life and envision the opportunities for adventures to come. It will surely be a step toward attracting the shining moments into your life.

Editor’s Note

1. Chaos

Chaos indicates the primordial state, which has yet to have any form or clear outline, nor results or conclusions. There exist various possibilities and limitations, as well as light and darkness harbored within. The origin of the word “chaos” comes from the Greek myth of the primordial deity Chaos. Chaos is a state prior to the beginning of the universe that harbors all light and darkness. It is a state of nothingness, but at the same time, it conceals all possibilities. As the main premise, the special characteristic of Chaos is that it inevitably leads to a way of life that transcends good or bad judgments. (Excerpted and summarized from page 126 of How to Make Your Life the Best)

2. Blueprint

Originally, a blueprint referred to plans to show how to build something such as a building or a machine. From there, it has come to refer to diagrams or plans for just about anything or for diagrams of the future that ought to be. The reality that we seek to realize and aspire to achieve. In the Study of the Soul, the term is also imbued with the meanings of the Idea (ideal form) hidden in all things and to the promise made with the Great Existence, God. (Excerpted from page 136 of The Golden Path; currently available only in Japanese)