Here's a story from my own life that I think connects to.
.
.
Maybe the challenge that we're all facing as humans as we pursue happiness or contentment or success and the way in which it can inevitably be kind of a frustrating pursuit.
So I was at a birthday party that my son was invited to.
And at the party they had a pinata.
My son's four,
By the way.
And so they were all hitting the piñata,
Taking turns hitting the piñata,
Getting excited about the candy that was going to come when they eventually broke the piñata open.
And then they got to the point of finally breaking the piñata open and it falls down to the ground.
And then something surprising happened.
They realized that the piñata was empty.
Apparently the dad had gotten the piñata and assumed that it came pre-filled with candy.
I might have made the same mistake.
And then they were really disappointed,
Or at least many of them were really disappointed.
Some of them cried.
The birthday boy,
For example,
Cried,
Understandably.
Some of them.
Weren't upset.
And they took the piñata and started running around with it and playing a new game.
And eventually they were all running around with the broken piñata and playing a new game.
And I watched it all and thought,
That's it.
What a perfect sort of metaphor for life,
That ultimately the piñata,
Whatever it is that we're working toward or trying to get that seems so exciting and so meaningful and purposeful.
Maybe ultimately the piñata.
Is empty.
And that points to the importance of simply the enjoyment of hitting the piñata.
Yes,
The candy is implied,
And that's probably the reason why we would hit the piñata in the first place,
But we might find out ultimately that it's all about just hitting the piñata and having as much fun as we can in the process.
Yes,
We might enjoy the candy when it comes,
But if we get attached to that,
We might miss the whole point.
Spiritual practices tend to point to this fact that ultimately everything is empty,
Empty and full at the same time.
And so I thought I might just share that with you,
The possibility ultimately that the piñata,
Whatever it is maybe that the piñata represents for you,
The piñata might be empty.
But keep playing.
Keep hitting the piñata and maybe do it just a little bit more for fun.
And if you realize that it's empty and that's a disappointment,
Well then maybe just pick up the pieces and play a new game.
