On Vacation
by Michael Mamas

Hello everyone, from a lake in eastern Tennessee where I am on vacation with my family. I must admit, I feel a bit like a fish that has to continue swimming in order to keep water running over its gills so it can breathe.

The lake is nice. The house on the lake is nice. The canoe is good. But for me… well, I must confess… what’s the point? I have to be doing something of significance in order to breathe.

I can feel the part of me that has always regretted I am that way. I remember the school dances. Parties. Dating. Social functions. I do not place any absolute value on how I am. It is just the way I am. Other people may tick differently and I would perhaps be better off in this world if I did also. But I do not.

I prefer a life of depth and significance. I have no affinity for idle time and cannot understand how I could have such an affinity, particularly when there is unhappiness and suffering in the world. Yet, if there were no suffering or unhappiness in the world, I would still have no affinity for, what feels to me to be, the mundane. I have no strong judgment of it… It is just not for me.

To feel alive, I must feel that I am doing something profoundly significant to help this world… to understand the mysteries of life, to marvel over the profundity of life and existence.

This is not a stance that I take in contrasting myself as having a better value system. No. In fact is feels to me to be more of a confession of my nature… a full disclosure of who I am. For better or worse is not the point.

Like most everyone in this world, I have a history of feeling out of place from time to time… awkward… uncomfortable. I just can’t do it. I just cannot be that person a particular situation or group expects me to be.

Sometimes I feel a bit guilty that I cannot do the simple activities of a typical father with my children. But I just can’t. Yet, I know that offering my children the truth of my nature is the best I could possibly do for them, or in fact anyone else, for that matter.

Usually, I am fine with all of this. However, on a family vacation, it glares in my face… round peg… square hole.

Fortunately, I have created a life for myself where I live in a world that is true to my Self. I am who and what I am and have not compromised that in the name of ‘fitting in’.

If you do not feel the same about your life, I encourage you to do something about it as soon as possible. Whoever you are, whatever you are, I implore you to do so. Follow that path. It leads to your true Self and your greatness.

To do so is to discover not only the truth of your Self, but also the truths underlying all of life and existence. This may sound like a bit of a leap, but it is not. Your nature is your key to the door unlocking all of nature, the nature of all things, and all other people.

After all, in the depth of our being, we all share the same one humanity. Our differences are superficial. On the deepest level, we are all one and the same.

By accepting one another as the unique individuals we each are, this world can thrive in abundance, peace, and happiness. To do so, start with who you truly are. The depth of who you are reveals the essence of all things and your unification with all that is.

© Michael Mamas, 7/11

ALL ARTICLES