The Best Kept Secret Blog - When Buddhism Meets Botox
If I had to pinpoint my introduction to spirituality, I'd say it came when D. wanted the pink transistor radio.
The radio in question was the much coveted first prize at D.'s Sunday School "Bring a Friend To Church" contest.
Being D.'s one and only recruit, I believe she ended up with the Adam and Eve pencil and eraser set consolation prize. I ended up continuing to go to Sunday School, even after the contest was over.
Over the years, my religious affiliations have waxed and waned. Being the good Canadian that I am, I have developed a tolerance of and an appreciation for all things spiritual, regardless of the form they take. And, with the possible exception of the Hare Krishna's (I just don't look good in orange), can see aspects of good in all.
I don't know if this early experience had something to do with what's going on now but like many others in my cohort, I'm experiencing a new found interest in spirituality. An August 2005 Newsweek/Beliefnet Poll found a correlation between age and interest in all things spiritual. In fact, 63% of the midlifers polled (between ages 40 and 59) stated that spirituality was "very important" in their daily lives.
Now I'm not talking organized religion per se. Just your run-of-the-mill, good old fashioned, search for meaning.
These days I'm noticing I'm searching anywhere and everywhere.
I knew something was up when I became aware of my horoscope habit. In my youth, I never gave these a glance. Then one day last summer, flipping through a magazine at the cottage, I glanced at my horoscope. Here's what I saw. . .
"Rise in career due to support of superiors. Gains from govt sources possible. Issues in marital matters and aggression with partners possible."
"Support of superiors..." Hmmm.... The only ones really superior to me in the house were the kids. But wait, they were getting older and more independent. Hadn't I just told them the other day that it was much easier working than listening to their constant bickering? Maybe there was something to this.
"Gains from govt sources...." Yes! I had recently filed my 2006 tax return (so sue me, I was a little late) and maybe I was going to get a refund.
"Issues in marital matters and aggression with partners ...." Oh! Oh! My husband and I had had a bit of a row over whose turn it was to walk the dog last night.
This stuff is for real!
I became obsessed.
Not only did I check the paper daily for sun sign guidance, I began branching out.
Fortune cookies? Bring them on. Each tiny slip was a sign.
The Secret? If Oprah likes it, it must be good.
Drinks with my neighbours, best-friend's cousin who had been spoken to "from the other side"? What did I have to lose.
As the obsession built to a fevered pitch, the family began to worry. Cheeky eldest daughter suggested I need to see a therapist but really, that's her response to most things I do. (She's a Gemini, what does she know?!)
Logical, practical husband listened to all. Loving and basic man that he is, as long as I wasn't asking him what he thought of my hair or spending money on clothes, he was fine with it all.
As for my friends, they were searching for their own meaning in life. For some this meant long hours at work to earn more or achieve more in their careers. For others, an extra-marital affair. And for a few, a slavish devotion to halt the hands of time, worshipping at the altar of the Stair Master and Botox.
But like any extreme behaviour, one can only sustain such a pace for so long . At some point we have to ask ourselves what it is we are truly looking for. What are our pink transistor radios?
While searching the Internet for Buddhist websites one day, I came across this quote from author, Sogyal Rinpoche. In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, he observes, “We smother our secret fears of impermanence by surrounding ourselves with more and more goods, more and more things, more and more comforts, only to find ourselves their slaves. Our only aim in life soon becomes to keep everything as safe and secure as possible.”
"The blind eye of this whirlwind of activity is our fear of death."
Maybe at this stage we're all beginning to understand that our time on this earth is a finite thing. It's dawning on us that we're not here for a long time and it may not even be a particularly good time. But we all somehow want to leave our mark on this earth.
Some of us will do it in a big way and win that pink transistor radio. And some will do it in a quiet way - by being a good parent, or helping a neighbour or whatever. I for one am looking forward to receiving my Adam and Eve pencil and eraser set.
