What if the hokey pokey IS what it’s all about?
I stared at the bumper sticker in front of me in the traffic jam. The peeling sticker was packed with lofty thinking material. I quickly concluded that, in my life, I have seen no proof whatsoever that the hokey pokey is NOT what it’s all about.
I have studied religions, gone through devout stages, had spiritual experiences, prayed and meditated. None of it has revealed to me the meaning of life. I have even made appointments with wise heads of churches and theology professors at universities, hoping to uncover even a glimpse of the meaning of life. Nope. It didn’t happen.
No one has one smidgen of proof about the claim they make to know what it’s all about. In fact, I have come to suspect that those who adamantly claim that they do know are the most insecure. It takes a lot of self-confidence to admit that you have no earthly idea what you are doing here. I like the advice of Vaclav Havel: Keep the company of those who seek the truth, run from those who have found it.
Have you heard it said that humans are born with a God-shaped hole in them? Basically, what I think that means is that at some point in our lives, we want to understand the meaning of this rat race. The great religions and the new age ones alike hope to give us what we yearn for: answers. Every religion has that in common. But they go about providing our answers in a puzzling variety of ways.
As the well-spoken atheist Sam Harris says, “Life is difficult — and faith is a balm. Most people imagine that [religion] represents the only available vessel for their spiritual hopes and existential concerns.” Harris disagrees that such a vessel must be found in organized religion. His new book, Waking Up, argues for spirituality outside of religion.
Many faiths promise a better place in the future so people are able to tolerate the difficulties of human life. The gospel hymns during the time of slavery are full of this sentiment with lyrics such as, “One fine morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away, halleluiah, I’ll fly away.” But putting off the enjoyment of life in hopes of a better future life is of questionable merit.
An astute advisor and professor at UT Southwestern Medical School recently advised her first year medical students that, although they had all come as far as they had because of their ability to defer gratification, they should all remember that they are living their life now. This calls on the ability to live mindfully and simply enjoy the present.
Zen writers teach us to find peace in even the most mundane daily tasks, such as doing the dishes or sweeping the floor. Adopting the mindset that the present is all we have — and therefore we should be content in each moment — is a skill that must be developed in our world of insatiable desire for what more we can acquire and achieve. It also offers us an alternative to putting in all our chips in the hope that there is some greater plan or meaning to this puzzle.
Discussion on the meaning of life could and does go on and on with much vigor, but alas, no conclusion. No one knows. That is the only real truth.
So my advice is to grab your kids, grandkids or even a friend, and do the hokey pokey. It never hurts to cover all of your bases.
Barbara Johnson is a frequent contributor to Voices. She works in nonprofits. She can be reached at bubs@stanfordalumni.org.
