REPOST: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Remember the ending to Queen's classic operatic rock song, "Bohemian Rhapsody?" Freddie Mercury sounds almost relieved when he sings the final lyrics: "Nothing really matters, anyone can see,
nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me."
The interesting thing is that one can relate to those words as a manifestation of depression, or as an expression of Buddhist-like non-attachment. In the case of depression, the expression is one of resignation and defeat, a place of giving up; in the case of non-attachment, the words describe an enlightened state of mind, a place of letting go. This led me to having a very powerful discussion this morning with someone about why we struggle with the things we do, and why things "matter" so much, and why do we get stuck when things matter too much?
Well, think about this - the first definition of matter in the Oxford dictionary is: "physical substance in general, as distinct from mind and spirit."
Physical as distinct from mind and spirit. Right. Matter is the heavy stuff that stuff is made of. Matter is the super slow vibration of energy that gives things "weight."
Here's another definition of matter from the dictionary: "the reason for distress or a problem."
Ha! Okay, so put the two definitions together and we have an insight here: Matter is "a physical, non-spiritual substance that causes distress and problems."
Now, translate the common question "What's the matter?" into "What's the non-spiritual substance causing me (you) distress?"
Hmm... Is it money, your house or apartment, your body? What are you attached to in a way that matters so much to you that you are becoming "heavy" in the truest sense of the word? And in that heaviness, making you less able to move and evolve your life in more flexible, creative ways.
Back to Queen and Freddie Mercury - "Nothing really matters?" Your job, your love partner, your kids, your cellulite? Doesn't matter? None of it? Doesn't matter? Can that be so? Can anyone live in such a way and still function and be responsible? Well, now we're back to Full Permission Living and the movement towards discovering that you can trust your first nature, embodied in your five senses and your intuition. This is how animals in the wild live, following their inner guidance without projections into the future or ruminations on the past. They are exquisitely in the Now, fully in the present moment. Human beings tend to only experience that blissful place where nothing matters when they're in the throws of a powerful orgasm, or in deep mediation or sleep, or in the "zone" during a creative moment. And unfortunately, how often do we allow ourselves to be in those places?
Perhaps an valuable exercise to conduct would be to examine your life and ask yourself what you would be doing if nothing mattered. Pretend you just found out that you only had a certain number of months to live. What would you do differently than you are now? Write it down. This is a good exercise because it puts you in touch with how precious a gift your life is. So... would you be living where you're living now? Working where you're working? Would you love your loved ones more openly? Have more fun? More sex? Go ahead - write it down, and then... ask yourself why you're not doing those things now? Really. And what would happen - really - if you did do those things now? Let me know. I'd love to hear what you discover.
PL