We’re Just Here to Experience It All

When life took a turn I didn’t expect

Ten years ago, I was on maternity leave with my firstborn after several years of university studies. I had gone straight from my bachelor to my master to an internship (the internship while pregnant). I was a relatively young mother, and life hadn’t prepared me for this role. I had only been prepared to start my career, so I was lost as my life suddenly took a new turn.

Questioning everything

Motherhood made me question what I was going to do with my life. What was my passion? What kind of job could possibly feel more meaningful than caring for my child? Surely working a desk-job couldn’t be the meaning of my life?

The question that changed everything

This question quickly turned into a bigger one: What was the meaning of life?

My search for answers

I’ve been on a spiritual journey ever since, trying to figure this out. I’ve read lots of books on spirituality, some of my favorites being “The Untethered Soul,” “The Surrender Experiment,” and “Living Untethered” by Michael Singer, “A Return to Love” by Marianne Williamson, and “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle.

What the teachings showed me

All of these books teach about consciousness and that essentially, we’re here to experience life and work on not getting in life’s way. Becoming aware, practice mindfulness, and understand that there is a part of us that is eternal and connected to something larger than us, and that we are in fact all connected.

Getting out of my own way

We’re just here to experience life, and we do have some autonomy. We don’t have to be victims. We can start choosing love over fear and stop resisting.

We have to become aware of the fact that life sometimes bothers us and that if we can get out of our own way, we will start to enjoy life more.

Creating meaning along the way

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I’m learning that we create our own meaning, and that we can help people at every stage of our life - even if it’s adding a sweet comment in an email to a client, or a compliment to a colleague.

My understanding (so far)

I think it’s important to ask the big questions. Do your research, find your own meaning. We might all get different answers, but don’t stop until you have one that makes sense to you.

So yeah, I think we’re just here to experience physicality and the whole spectrum. Lightness, darkness, pain, pleasure, suffering, relief, happiness, sadness, peace, grief, excitement, frustration and love.