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What Really Matters
Simplifying your Spiritual Path
by Matt Kahn

It's ironic how the very spiritual path you choose to improve the quality of your life, soon mirrors the frenetic, non-stop schedule of busywork that led you to recognize the peace and harmony your life had been missing. Just as we might dash out of the house with a bagel stuck in our mouth in the morning, many spiritual practices begin to be sprinkled throughout our day, and can become as much of an unconscious distraction to the true emotional nourishment all parts of self ask for, and deserve.

We begin to take a step back from the human race, and ask ourselves a series of important questions, "What's the rush?", "What am I rushing toward?", and of course, "Once I get there, won't I soon be rushing to get somewhere else?"

At a certain point of spiritual maturity, it is no longer necessary or useful to attend a yoga class if it requires speeding past other equally useful moments of life. It becomes seemingly hilarious when you may catch your mind labeling someone else's actions as egoic, when it can only be seen from the perspective of your ego.

At this turning point on the spiritual path, one is no longer concerned with turning well-intended spiritual principles into tools of self-judgment and conceptual distractions, but rather, engages the spiritual path as a means of discovering a long-lasting sense of happiness and fulfillment that illustrates every lifetime with ecstatic joy and indescribable vitality.

This turning point occurs when we ask ourselves one particular question that is relevant to the spiritual path, as well as the path of life. This profoundly simple question is, "What really matters?"

If you were to take an inventory of any spiritual practice or action step, you might be surprised to find the reason you engage in these practices is out of a fear of the future. We either fear what we assume the future might be, or fear what we may not be able to make it become. In any case, we look past the present moment to ensure that whatever is up ahead will suit our needs and preferences. Whether we realize it or not, the entire purpose of the spiritual path is to realize how past and future are only thought-based realities. This realization is always here for you to recognize, and acts as an invitation to openly merge into the presence of this very moment, however it is already appearing to be.

What really matters is our willingness to intimately engage with the present moment, like the relationship you have with your dearest friend or most beloved family member. Just like the people we hold closest to our hearts, we begin to view the present moment as a friend, with every momentary experience or circumstance, being the ongoing mood swings of this newfound friend.

When this friend is a happy moment, we smile and appreciate being able to witness such happiness unfolding. When the circumstance of the moment changes to something seemingly less fortunate, we can open our hearts to embrace the moment, and support it through its vast spectrum of experiences and many unsuspecting changes.

Even on a deeper level, your willingness to engage with the present moment as you would a friend, is really an invitation to engage in a relationship with yourself, as the friend you may have otherwise overlooked. No matter what spiritual practice you enjoy, or what particular spiritual path you choose to embrace, what really matters is our willingness to establish a loving relationship with all parts of ourselves, and be open to learning from every moment, versus being lost in the circumstances of it.

Many of us are interested in learning from each moment, but it remains unclear how one goes about it. So, here's what really matters:

Think of your feelings as the child you once were in childhood, and the nourishment it needs to be fed, as your loving attention. Using this metaphor, any emotional reaction is just one of many moods the child may experience, as a means of getting your attention and asking for your love.

If you view your feelings through the perspective of ego, you will always make a problem with however life appears from a limiting point of view. When you accept that any feeling arises to be accepted, loved, and appreciated however it seems to be, then any reaction to the external world acts as a doorway into your inner reality, where the fulfillment of ever-present peace and unconditional love may find its way to you.

Nothing else matters but your willingness to answer your thoughts, feed your feelings, or to even engage in the reactions of others with acceptance, loving-kindness, and appreciation. When even the most dastardly of emotional reactions can be seen as dramatic requests for acceptance and loving attention, you can remain grateful that you have the rare opportunity to love and embrace the most sensitive and innocent aspects of yourself that hide in the depths of all feelings, thoughts, and reactions.

Imagine responding to any resistance you notice with a compassionate smile, and a patient, open heart. In this way, your feelings are seen to be as innocent as a crying child who happens to catch your attention.

No matter what seems to be, life in its many disguises is only getting your attention as a request for acceptance, love, and appreciation, as only you could ever cleverly offer it. From this deep place of acceptance, life inherently changes from an ongoing drama, to a love affair of innocence only found within the space of the present moment.

This is the true joy of spiritual living that can only be found when your willingness to simply allow, accept, and love whatever happens, becomes what really matters.

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