A year or two ago, it’s likely that you would have looked at me and thought to yourself… “Hey, now here’s a guy whose going somewhere in life. He’s college educated, he’s got a fun job in the multimedia industry, he’s also an up-and-coming musician with a CD in stores, he’s performing at famous venues and getting some radio airplay, he’s got a lot of loyal friends who’ve stuck by him through the years, and he’s even got a beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman by his side… If anybody stands a chance at being happy in this life, it’s this guy.”

If you looked at my life now, you’d probably assume I’ve lost my mind. That’s okay with me. That’s pretty much what’s happened, just not how you think. Part of what I’m doing now is something that I feel sort of destined to do. And that is, demonstrating that it’s possible to be virtually nobody, going nowhere, owning nothing, and all the while being truly happy, deeply at peace. Our culture and what I lovingly call the “cult of society” would have you believe that ultimate satisfaction is not possible under such conditions, but I am here to assure you that it is.

Not before you were five years old but surely since then, you have unwittingly participated in a lie. This lie that I’m talking about is a cultural myth which has conditioned you to believe, that in order to feel good about yourself you must be somebody more important, be going somewhere more interesting, establishing something more lasting, doing something more profitable, learning something more useful, achieving something more impressive, possessing something more valuable. You should be building on your past, planning for tomorrow, anticipating setbacks, trying harder, striving for more, striving for more, always striving for more.

Think of a baby, two or three years old. Consider how freely they express their emotions, how they ask for what they really want, how ready they are to explore life, to take risks, how willing they are to fall flat on their face.

Children at that age aren’t domesticated yet. They haven’t believed the lie that in order to be happy they have to be something, buy something, achieve something, learn something, know something, lease something, possess something, or even be free of something. They don’t live their lives according to anyone else’s expectations. They don’t even live by expectations of their own. They don’t feel defined by their past and they aren’t waiting for some grand fulfillment to occur in the future. They are wild, free, and usually quite happy.

I believe that is exactly how life is meant to be lived. The bad news is we can never return to that kind of innocence, no matter how hard we may try. Here’s the good news… It is possible to live much closer to that state of being and even make visits there often.

From the outside looking in, it seems I am on a spiritual journey. From my perspective I am just living life. I do meditate quite a lot though and I also spend a good deal of time studying ancient wisdom. I study the ancient wisdom because I’m fascinated by the concept of enlightenment. Enlightenment, it seems to me, is all about realizing who and what you really are. I meditate a lot because that’s what helps me do that. It’s how I turn off the compulsive thinker who used to rule my mind. When I meditate I am able to turn off compulsive thinking and just swim in the spaciousness of pure being-ness, pure awareness, stillness and peace.

Maybe you’re not sure what the heck I’m talking about with all this spaciousness of pure whatever-ness stuff. If that’s the case, just think of the undomesticated child and the joyful contentment in his eyes. He knows what I’m talking about. His mind is not filled with repetitive and compulsive thinking. He’s not feeling defined by the past or waiting anxiously for fulfillment in the future. He’s just being… Free.

Zachary Perlman is a warm soul who is passionate about the study and comparison of spiritual wisdom. He currently lives in Los Angeles where he teaches intensive workshops on meditation and spiritual growth. For more information please visit http://www.JoyofAwakening.com

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