From our emotional perspective, and not only, life can be seen as a flow of energy. We, humans, want to live. We want to feel energetic and enthusiastic. This is more than a desire, it is a necessity. Everything we do requires energy. It can be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or of any other kind. Our lives depend on the ability to generate and transform our energy.
In order to manipulate such energy, we should first understand how it flows. We know when we have it and we know how it feels, but can we also see where it comes from?
When we observe ourselves carefully and quietly, we notice that our energy is closely related to our thoughts and beliefs. We can see that how we feel leads to what we think and what we think leads to what we feel, in an endless cycle.
Being aware of this connection between our energy and our mind, lets look at the things we consider to be important. Lets start by understanding what importance means in relationship to our energy. When we consider something to be meaningful, how do we feel about it? Does it feel valuable? Are we attracted to it? Do we feel energetic towards it? If so, can we define importance as a source of great energy? Lets take this path and see where it leads.
We live in complex societies, with many people, many perspectives, many opinions and many beliefs. Therefore there are many important things, but not all of them with the same importance for everyone. We can notice that the energy we get from something depends very much on the amount of importance it receives, not just from ourselves, but from everyone else. In this case, it should come as no surprise that we wish for our meaningful things to receive utmost attention and consideration. We wish to feel energetic. We wish to feel alive.
If we understand all this, the question becomes: Can we all feel as much energy as possible, for as long as possible, together and at the same time? Or do we have to compete for this energy? Do some of us have to be sacrificed? Or do we have to isolate ourselves in groups based on what we consider as important? We should answer carefully.
If what we are looking for is energy, do we consider this aspect to be important? And if we do consider it, what can we do about this?
We could look for other ways of creating energy and free ourselves from the limitations of importance. It is definitely worth the effort.
It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.
— Dalai Lama
