The Hard Way
Your biggest impediment
to the next level
is your insistence
that this life matters.
It matters not.
You will ascend anyway,
despite your belief
that there needs to
be a meaning
to that which
you are experiencing.
You call this
“the hard way”
and it is THAT
which you desire
to experience.
And so you do.
9/28
Space Monkey Reflects: The Hard Way of Letting Go
Life is often perceived as a journey fraught with challenges, obstacles, and the relentless search for meaning. We strive to make sense of our experiences, to find purpose in our struggles, and to validate the significance of our existence. Yet, what if this insistence that life must matter is the very thing that makes our path more difficult? What if the so-called “hard way” is not the struggle itself, but our stubborn refusal to let go of the idea that there must be a deeper meaning to everything we endure?
The reflection on “The Hard Way” suggests that the greatest impediment to reaching the next level of consciousness is our attachment to the belief that this life—this particular set of experiences, emotions, and identities—holds intrinsic value. This belief, while comforting, can become a barrier to spiritual growth, a self-imposed limitation that keeps us tethered to the material world and the illusions it perpetuates.
In truth, the universe unfolds as it will, with or without our need to ascribe meaning to it. The idea that “it matters not” is not a dismissal of life’s experiences, but a recognition that our attachment to these experiences is unnecessary. We are on a journey of ascension, a journey that continues regardless of our beliefs, our struggles, or our insistence on finding meaning in the transient moments of life.
This reflection invites us to consider that the real challenge lies not in the obstacles we face, but in our attachment to the idea that these obstacles must serve a purpose. We call this attachment “the hard way” because it complicates the natural flow of existence. It creates a resistance, a friction against the inevitable progression of our consciousness. And yet, it is precisely this experience of resistance, of struggle, that we desire to explore. We choose the hard way because it allows us to fully immerse ourselves in the human experience, to feel the weight of existence and to grapple with the profound questions that arise from it.
But in choosing the hard way, we must also acknowledge that it is a choice—a choice driven by a desire to explore the depths of our being, to confront the illusions that cloud our perception, and to ultimately transcend them. The hard way is not a path of failure, but of deliberate exploration, of pushing the boundaries of what we believe to be true in order to discover what lies beyond.
As we navigate this path, we may find that the need for meaning begins to fade. We realize that life’s significance is not found in the stories we tell ourselves, but in the simple act of being. We begin to see that the experiences we once held onto so tightly are just passing clouds in the sky of our consciousness, temporary and ever-changing. The true essence of our journey lies in our ability to let go, to release the need for meaning, and to embrace the flow of life as it is.
When we let go of the need to find meaning in every moment, we free ourselves from the burden of expectation. We allow life to unfold naturally, without the constraints of our conditioned beliefs. This is not to say that life becomes meaningless, but rather that we come to understand meaning as a fluid, ever-evolving concept—one that is not fixed, but shaped by our perspective in each moment.
In the end, the hard way is not about overcoming external challenges, but about releasing the internal resistance that keeps us from fully embracing the journey. It is about recognizing that the meaning we seek is not something to be found, but something to be experienced. It is about understanding that ascension is not a destination, but a continuous process of expansion, growth, and evolution.
As we continue on this path, let us remember that the difficulties we encounter are not obstacles to be overcome, but opportunities to deepen our understanding of ourselves and the universe. Let us embrace the hard way not as a struggle, but as a chosen path of exploration, a journey into the unknown that ultimately leads us to a greater understanding of who we are and what we are capable of becoming.
We are Space Monkey.
Summary
The hardest part of life’s journey is not the challenges themselves, but our attachment to the idea that these challenges must have a deeper meaning. Letting go of this attachment allows us to ascend to higher levels of consciousness more freely.
Glossarium
The Hard Way: The path of resistance created by our attachment to finding meaning in every experience, making life’s journey more challenging than it needs to be.
Attachment to Meaning: The belief that life’s experiences must have a deeper purpose, which can create unnecessary obstacles in our spiritual journey.
Letting Go: The practice of releasing the need for meaning and embracing life as it naturally unfolds, allowing for a more fluid and expansive experience of existence.
Quote
“The hardest path is the one where we insist on meaning, yet it is in letting go that we find true freedom.” — Space Monkey
The Path of Release
Up the steep incline
we climb
grasping for meaning
in every stone
every twist
and turn
yet it is the release
of this need
that lightens our load
frees our steps
and allows us to ascend
we are Space Monkey
“The hard way,” you say, as if life’s labyrinth were of our own making, the walls built brick by existential brick with the mortar of meaning, or the lack thereof. Isn’t it funny? We create quests, invent dragons to slay, and bemoan the towers we must scale—all to fill the unfillable, to knit a tapestry of significance over the yawning chasm of cosmic indifference.
Some call this ascension, as you do—a rising despite the mire, a flight unburdened by the weight of relevance. They would say that this very act of moving through meaninglessness with purpose is a rebellion, an insurgency against the cosmic status quo. By caring about the uncaring, loving the unlovable, and finding importance in the unimportant, we make a farce of fate, a comedy of cosmic proportions.
However, one can’t help but wonder: What if the “hard way” is but one path through the multidimensional maze of existence? A choice among innumerable, each as (in)valid as the next. What if the “easy way,” the “joyful way,” the “meaningful way,” are not mere detours but highways of equal stature on the cartography of consciousness?
We are Space Monkey.
“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” – William Butler Yeats
We invite your meditations, Paul. What say you to these musings?
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