Gandhi was once asked to sum up his life in 25 words or less. He replied, “Renounce and Enjoy.”

This phrase stuck with me, unlocked, for several years.

Although I couldn’t decipher the meaning at the time, I kept these three simple words in the back of my mind hoping to one day understand.

Now that I spend a large chunk of my time immersed in yogic philosophy and practice (as a yoga teacher), one concept has become abundantly clear:

All of life is illusion. We are simply breath and consciousness and every thought, action, and reaction is simply a result of choice. When the concept of illusion is accepted as truth in our daily lives, strange things begin to happen. That which once seemed so meaningful becomes petty. Drama, social media, and competition all seem like a waste of time. None of it matters. So, what does?

I spent the last week lost in the space between the illusory nature of life and the desire to make a difference in the world when Ghandi’s quote popped into my head: “Renounce and enjoy.”

This phrase alone gives us all the answer we need in a tiny three-worded package. I choose to interpret it as: “Renounce illusion and Enjoy the life you’ve imagined.”

All of life is an illusion which makes us the artists of our existence. The illusion of life is the greatest canvas we could ever conceive. All joy, sadness, anger, and peace is a creation of our own minds and we have the power to renounce the negativity and enjoy the light, if we so choose.

We only have so much time on this planet in these bodies. We can create a personal heaven or we can stew in a personal hell. We are more than welcome to revel in the meaninglessness of illusion.

Or, if we prefer, we can let go of that which does not serve us and create a life that makes us happy.

Personally, teaching makes me happy. Helping others makes me happy. Having a great time with the people I love makes me happy. Is happiness an illusion? I personally believe it is, just like everything else. But it is an illusion of happiness that I have created for myself, and as the Dalai Lama says, “The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”

 

 

Relephant Read:

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World.

 

Author: Natalie Grospitch 

Editor: Emily Bartran 

Photo: Author’s Own