Meditation: "Dear Life"

I ponder many puzzling questions in my life, but none is as important as this one: “What is life?” In a way, everything depends upon my answer to this question, and yet it is a question I have largely ignored. I use the word “life” all the time in countless ways, and yet I rarely consider its precise meaning. I say “life is good”, and “I need to get a life”, and “I’ve lived an exciting life”, but I almost never pause to think about the meaning of what I’m saying. For example, one expression I have occasionally used is “as big as life”, as in “I could see her in my thoughts as big as life.” What’s strange about that expression is that it suggests an impossibility, for nothing can be as big as life. Life, when I stop to consider it (as I’m doing this morning), has nothing to do with matter, and therefore has no limits, no boundaries, no beginning or ending. Life does not reside in my heart or lungs or blood or brain; rather, it exists in the infinite workings of the vast universe. As such, it’s way too big to be imitated or defined or captured or enclosed. This reminds me of another common expression – “dear life” – as in “I ran for dear life”. I’ve never thought about that expression, but it does carry a great amount of truth. Life very definitely is dear, because it has no equal, and therefore no rival, and therefore no discord or disharmony. Life is so dear that I should regard it with the highest esteem and respect. Perhaps I should I write a thank-you letter to it each morning, beginning with “Dear Life”.