The World Series, Your Life

Henry David Thoreau famously believed that the vast majority of people "lead lives of quiet desperation." Imagine Thoreau saying this today on Larry King Live or on Oprah!. I think he'd probably sound like some condescending dean or like he was getting ready to introduce the Thoreau Personal Empowerment Plan. But surely most people feel at some point that something profound is missing from their lives—a personal, direct connection to something sacred and eternal. It may be just a vague yet deep dissatisfaction, regardless of material wealth, success, fame, etc., a kind of gnawing discontent with things as they are. In any case, I don't think our culture really knows how to deal with this rich, existential aspect of being human--sometimes called the dark night of the soul at its most intense--other than providing ways to avoid it, numb it, or explain it away. This is of course prima materia for the arts and for most spiritual paths. I remember telling my Zen teacher early in my training that the universe was meaningless and I had no idea what to do with my life. He said, very sincerely, "Excellent. Now you can use that to really dig in and practice."

The so-called mid-life crisis is waking up in our 40s or 50s and realizing that we've neglected something important in all our doing and striving, and now we need to circle back--a very rich, important rite of passage for many people. And sometimes, as Thoreau knew, we never wake up. When people asked Buddha, "Are you some kind of god or deity?" his response was, "No. I am awake." Of course this is not the ordinary state of wakefulness which we distinguish from R.E.M. sleep. This is the great awakening to our mysterious, indestructible true nature.

In the 2009 World Series, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees (love him or hate him) was struck by the baseball three times while at bat. Regarding the third hit, he said "...that at-bat kind of woke me up a little bit and just reminded me, 'Hey, this is the World Series. Let's get it going a little bit. So it worked out." He went on to hit a home run in Game 3 and drove home the go-ahead run in the ninth inning of Game 4 with what, he said, was the biggest hit of his career. The Yankees won the Series.

Well, this life is the World Series. Here we are, circling an orb of burning helium planted miraculously on this remarkable planet. Where did you come from? Where are you going? The stakes are much higher than winning or losing a baseball game. What wakes you up?