The question on everyone’s mind

By Nico Cost for GlobalSouth.co

We know the big questions of life. What is life like? Does God exist? What did man come to do on Earth? Is there life elsewhere in the Universe? But there are also more personal questions. Who am I? What have I come to do on Earth?

Ever since man learned to think, we have been preoccupied with these questions. Curious as we are, we try to find answers. But also fear of the unknown and an uncertain future leads us to desire answers.

Prophets, seers, sages, scholars, scientists, religious leaders, philosophers, politicians, journalists, ordinary people and so basically everyone pays some attention to it in their lives. Some more than others, in depth and expression.

But now suppose you get the answer to all these questions. That you know all this. What then? You know, but the others don’t. Are you then any good with the answers? Surely you now know things that others don’t know?

That you are reading this piece of text means that you are curious. You want to learn more, and perhaps what you read will help you do that. You are forming your own opinion. And then when you look at your surroundings, what do you see? Are those others doing this, too?

Some seek depth and others are not involved at all. So when you experience a eureka, you already know that it was mainly for you. Because those others experience other things. What good is the truth then?

I am not saying not to be curious or not to ask questions. If it is in our description that we take pleasure in seeking the truth, then we may indulge in that. But we are a minority. Still.

However, there is a question that does get asked by the majority. A personal question that is always current. A question that people ask of themselves. The answer is needed to move forward. There is time for doubt, but time is also pressing.

What shall I do?

Do I turn left here or right? Do I buy cheese or sausage? Am I going to apply for a job or not? Do I want to get married or not? Small questions. Big questions. Easy questions. Difficult questions. Hundreds a day. The answers you give distract you from something. From what?

Does it suit you? Does it feel right? Are you convinced of something? Does it align with your values? Can you justify it? Does it fit your worldview? Are you consistent in your thinking and actions? Can you change, or not?

Do I go to the barricades or look away from it? What is my personal interest? Do I need to stand up for someone, and is that important enough to accept the consequences of my actions? Do I quit my job? Will I get a divorce?

What you will do determines who you are.

So who are you? Which part of you is really you yourself and which part is programmed by others? Do you know that? Have you thought about that? Have you gone into depth, have you gone deep enough? Do you know yourself?

Life is a journey into yourself. Being your true self is life art. And art is practice; it is never finished. This journey has no destination, because our powers of perception are too limited to see over the horizon.

You don’t have to engage in this either, nothing has to. It is a choice and even when people want to become conscious it is not said that it will happen. You are on a journey though, whether you want to or not. We are walking on the same road, in the same direction.

Evolution goes only one way and that is forward. Our pace varies and also where exactly we are walking on the road. That doesn’t matter, because we are not about each other’s journey. You are not even about your children’s journey. Only your own journey matters.

We can encourage each other. But grass doesn’t grow harder by pulling on it. We can offer children safety. We can inspire each other. We have to do something anyway, which is to let go. Letting go of all ballast. Even letting go of each other.

But you determine that when you ask the question, “What shall I do?” And in the meantime, the world turns and life goes on. There is work to be done and social obligations. So many distractions. Tomorrow there are other texts to be read.

How do you hold on to an insight now? Or did you just have to let something go? How relative is all this really? What do you want? What is your subconscious doing with this? What help do you consciously and unconsciously ask your guides for? Now it gets interesting. Or drop out.

Drumroll. Silence.