I read this today in Mindfulness in Plain English as a recommendation for the attitude to take when pursuing a mindfulness practice:

“Never mind what I have been taught. Forget about theories and prejudices and stereotypes. I want to understand the true nature of life. I want to know what this experience of being alive really is. I want to apprehend the true and deepest qualities of life, and I don’t want to just accept somebody else’s explanation. I want to see it for myself.”

This is good advice no matter the approach to living an authentic, wholehearted life.

We tend to live on automatic pilot, programmed by others – often well-meaning others – and plodding along a path we didn’t choose.

Why not have your own experience of life? Why not see for yourself what is real? Not virtual reality or someone else’s formula for meaning. Live your life.