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Life is short.

We only have so much time here, while we have plenty of things we can think about, plenty of things to spend time and energy on, plenty of things to do. And the clock is ticking.

So then, in regards to things that are "spiritual" . . . why bother at all? There is so much to do, see, experience, so many possibilities . . . out of all the things to do, why bother with "spiritual" stuff at all?

Why spend time trying to figure out the meaning of the universe, or adopting and practicing a set of beliefs about an other-world? After all, it rarely makes anyone rich, or famous, there's always a good football game, a good round of shopping . . . plenty of other things to do - how do we know we won't find "IT" somewhere, anywhere else?

Life forces us to manage an economy of limited time, energy, resources . . . and everyone has something to say on the matter, so your LiveReal Editors decided to dig into this question and see what happened.

Here goes. So far, we've left leave out some of the more obvious and already overused ones (like, for example, the potential promise/threat of an everlasting eternity of either frying pain or total bliss, or maybe a dull waiting room in between) . . . and tried to focus on some of the more plain and evident things that we can see for ourselves.

"You do not realize
your own situation (of being human).
You are in prison.
All you can wish for, if you are a sensible man, is to escape . . ."
- G. I. Gurdjieff

One, there is the story of

The Merchant With Four Wives . . .

And there is the issue of . . .

"Meditation" (or stillness, or even prayer (especially when we're not in the middle of a crisis)), is one area where, existentially, the rubber meets the road.

Why spend good, healthy time and energy doing this?

Here is one answer, an excerpt from Henepola Gunaratana.

Meditation: Why Bother?

And from another angle . . .

-on the one hand, well, life is good, and everything's just fine.

And on the other hand, life is utter hell . . .

"Between the two poles of heaven and hell
the human spirit
quivers."
- Emmanuel Swedenborg

And on the other hand,

life is good . . .

And there's always, for example,

what the classics have to say on the matter . . .

Star Wars

and then there is that slight chance

that we are all living in . . .

The Matrix

"Knowledge can be communicated
but not wisdom."
- Herman Hesse

And for centuries, we have been preaching at each other to be nicer, kinder, smarter, more gentle, more compassionate, more loving, to make it a more peaceful, harmonious world, blah blah, etc etc.

And, it doesn't work.

Why Preaching Doesn't Work

"From the present point of view, child rearing
may be regarded as an educational process
in which the child is taught
what games to play and how to play them . . .
As elements of his script, or unconscious life-plan,
his favored games also determine his ultimate destiny . . ."
- Eric Berne, Games People Play

Some describe life as a "game" - a very serious game, for sure, but still a game. Looking at the game of life this way, this brings up the question: which games are you playing? . . . and then there's the question of what games are worth playing . . .

- and what a guy named de Ropp has to has on the matter.

The Master Game

- and of course, there are plenty more possible reasons why spiritual stuff is worth digging into.

(Bonus Notes, on one of our favorites . . .
there is what we call "The Problem of Acclimation" (also called the "Scent Of A Woman" scenario):

- the fact that given enough time and exposure, sooner or later, everything in life, including food, sex, fame, wealth, paintball, sports, and essentially everything else will, if you live long enough, get old and boring.

"Millions long for immortality
who do not know
what to do with themselves
on a rainy Sunday afternoon."
- Susan Ertz

- and more to come . . .

Related Articles:

Modern Spirituality: What's Hot and What's Not

What is "Enlightenment"?

What is "God"?

Who are you?

Why are we here?