Once again we return to the search, the search for that unique spiritual upliftment that will make us special and, while waiting, we can miss the beauty of being just that simple leaf blowing in the wind.

Some believe that the meaning of life can be found by doing the work of God. Somewhere I must have missed the call, I never heard him ask for my help. I would think that, being the creator of this little lot, he would not need it. I believe that not only do we live in a dream, we often delude ourselves into believing we have found the way out. “If I can tell myself and convince myself that I have found the reason for being on this planet, then I will always know where I am.”

This would, of course, in turn separate us from all the others who have no idea why they are here. I remember Osho saying, “It is so easy to be special, it is so much harder to be ordinary”. I know that I have no reason for being here, other than one night my mother and father, during the sexual act, conceived me. Beyond that, all is a mystery. Like the farmer said, “The more I plough this field the less I know about it.”

To say something about the elderly, would be for me to presume too much. I suppose I will just have to wait and hope that my brain outlives me.

We make goals, and if we are artists we become deeply involved in our art. If we are in business we make money. Most of us work or have worked for a living. We become embroiled for ever in our children and our grand-children’s lives – or not. Many of us have religious practices that can include company with like minded others. We eat, sleep, make love, read books, watch movies, walk, travel, garden and love our pets. We visit our friends and enjoy their company and, if lucky, we enjoy our own as well. All of these activities are outside us and can make us feel happy, sad, or indifferent. But would you say they give meaning?

Perhaps they do, but I do not have a definitive answer. If I think about my own life I never ask whether it has meaning. I do know that I love and am grateful for it. It has covered the spectrum of what can happen to any human being, from tragedy to comedy. I am grateful for that, and don’t worry at all whether it has meaning or not!

And yes, for many – there comes a time when all those activities gradually slow down, and in some cases stop altogether, even though the body is still alive. With regards to those old people in their home: my deepest wish is that they will be given more special opportunities to feel loved and cared for. Most importantly, I wish that they are reached out to, with genuine intention to pierce the apparently clouded lives they live within themselves. I am not afraid of growing older and dying. But I am aware that there could come a time when I will need attention and care from someone else.

My hope is that conversations like this will reach far enough to those who do the caring, and help them recognise that none of us need to be sat in rows in front of a TV all day. What we need is a smile, a hug and a bit of attention. In other words – it is what happens in the present moment that counts. Those who have disappeared into themselves have only that present moment. As do we all.