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Human beings are lights of consciousness that are capable of creating a joyful and fulfilling life. Considering this, and when you take a look at the world we live in, you would think we would choose to do some different things. Things that made us happier. Why don’t we?

One reason is because the minds of humans are conditioned from childhood with events, images and people demonstrating a way of life common to members of our tribe. We learn how to behave, what is expected of us and what a ‘normal’ life is. Many of our ideas about life are based on what other people tell us. We seldom ask the big questions and hardly ever consider another way to be possible. We live within a self-imposed box, confining our unlimited spirits to mundane routine and competition.

But if we are fortunate we will listen to our feelings that are telling us that life is more than living in a box. If we pay attention to those feelings more, and let them grow, they will help us recreate our life based on our deepest desires rather than on what society expects from us. It’s true that we are conditioned by a social system and this makes it very hard to recognize that life could be more, but it is also true that we are responsible for our own happiness. To be joyful is a choice, therefore we should choose to do things that make us happy. As simple as that is it is the truth, there is a better way.

The Shock

I couldn’t believe it when it happened. My guitar fell from the bed to the floor and… SNAP! The headstock, as you can see in the picture, broke in half like a match stick. What the..?

That’s all I could think. I couldn’t even get mad because this was so shocking that it was beyond anger, it was jaw-dropping disbelief. I just thought WOAH, what’s going on? I had no answer.

After a few hours of absorbing what happened I started to think of the meaning behind it. I’m the kind of person who believes there’s a higher reason for things like this to happen, so I needed to know why.

The Notebook Entry

My notebooks are a place for me to reflect on the meaning of things in my life. For this incident, I wanted to know how a broken guitar could be good for me. There had to be a higher reason, there always is. Somehow this event was a catalyst for personal growth, so I reflected in my journal last night about what this all meant and here’s what I wrote:

Guitar playing means nothing

Singing means nothing

Making a statement means nothing

Overcoming suffering means nothing

Writing songs means nothing

Being good means nothing

Having fun means nothing

Changing the world means nothing

Wikileaks means nothing

Blog posts mean nothing

Facebook means nothing

The Meaning

My thought process in interpreting the meaning of this began by looking at this event as obviously being connected to my relationship to the guitar or music. I know my attitude with music lately has been a little impatient, even a little frustrating, and because I know these feelings are not coming from the highest part of me I know that my broken guitar has to do with healing those feelings. There is clearly a message here for me to let go of the guitar, or to let go of music.

You can see in my notebook entry that this list of things, which are things I feel to be important and valuable, I was telling myself meant nothing. I remembered that more important than achieving all of my goals is to let go of them. Let go of guitar playing, let go of singing, let go of music. Let go of all of it so I can detach from expecting results. When I expect certain results I get frustrated if they don’t manifest, sometimes subtly, sometimes not.

I remembered that when things mean nothing, they lose their hold over us. We just let them happen because we are not personally attached to them in any way and we are not expecting a certain outcome. If we learn to have a higher relationship of detachment to that which we most desire, as well as to that which we least desire, we allow deeper states of self expression to manifest. We can create for the sake of creation, not for the sake of some goal.

I guess I am getting a pretty strong message to let go of even my most important goals, and of expecting certain outcomes so that I can free myself from pressure to succeed and discover deeper levels of being. Good thing I have another guitar so I can continue with making music, but note to God – I got the message, no need for another.

In a sea of talking heads and endless information how do we know what is the truth in today’s society? Who do we trust?

I think the truth can safely be defined as something we all want to get closer to which is also something that is in our own best interests to know.

Here are five ways we can improve the likelihood that we meet the truth in the busyness of modern times:

1. Avoid messages with too many emotionally charged words.

Words like liberal, conservative, terrorist, enemy, insurgents, Islam and national security are often used because they evoke a strong emotional reaction in us. We give away our own power when we allow those who use these emotionally charged words to direct our energy towards some end. By learning to recognize the usage of these words in the media and then separate ourselves from their emotional effects we begin develop our own discernment for truth.

The truth should be something that is in our own best interests to know.

2. Avoid fear. It’s easy to see how messages that incite fear are best kept at a distance. To be afraid is to lose control. Why would we want to expose ourselves to chaotic, fearful vibrations when we can choose to listen to other messages that are uplifting and vibrate positively? Something true would not contain fear if we have defined truth as something that we want to get closer to.

3. Who benefits? Too much information is often intended to direct our energies in a particular direction that is meant to benefit someone else. We must look closely to see if our own best interests are being served. Do they listen to us? Do they understand, not just our angers, but our dreams for ourselves and our society? Often our trust in others is taken advantage of when we choose to let fear guide our actions.

4. Be curious. Take time to absorb different viewpoints in a wide variety of subjects. The more knowledge we have the more likely we are to understand events in life. Sometimes the truth is hard to accept because it surprises us with its suddenness or its profound meaning. But we should be cautious here of letting this shock turn into a fear of accepting a new truth. We should not shut down from listening just because information seems outside our comfort zone.

5. A Trusted Friend. It is also a good idea to find a friend or relative that can be trusted and use them as a resource, and we can always ask a senior citizen.