Meditation for Thursday 21st December 2023

On the second last program of The Drum, ABC TV, 15th Dec’23, one of the panelists was Adam Carrell a Partner at EY, Climate Change & Sustainability Services. The panel discussion centred on a report that indicated that Australians are a grumpy lot, generally dissatisfied with life. Adam Carrell made the following contribution…..

“There are plenty of people living without basic needs and they have every right to be grumpy and angry with their lot but the vast majority of Australians are living lives that are better based on every human development indicator that almost any other person has lived in human history. How does that group of people get to be pessimistic or grumpy?

The reason is that people are living de-spiritualised lives, and I say that as a border-line atheist, but I think even atheists need access to higher truths. I think especially in the professional classes who constitute many of those people that have every ingredient for a charmed life it’s that our vocabulary and mindscape is so edited of higher truth. So we don’t have the avenues to spend time to receive that joy that only comes from the pursuit of meaning.”

Whether one is religious or not the meaning of Christmas of ‘good will and peace to all’ resonates in the hearts of most people but is often buried beneath the shopping frenzy and partying.

Meditation helps us to find meaning even if we don’t find answers.

Meditation

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This is the final meditation for 2023. We will resume both the group meditation in the Malone Room on Thursday 1st February together with the printed and audio resource material. Check in January for the activities offered by the Carmelite Centre at www.thecarmelitecentremelbourne.org.