"Spiritual ennui"

by Dr. Larry Morris

Sometimes on the spiritual path, we feel like nothing is happening in our lives. It's as if no matter what we do or don't do, it doesn't seem to matter. The zest and joy of life doesn't seem to be present in us. We wake up in the morning and there is no spring to our steps as we get out of bed to face the day. We have to force ourselves to do the siplest things, yet if we were asked, "Well, what's wrong with you?", it's impossible for us to say. We could give one reason or a dozen reasons but none of the "reasons" really matter. It's not the "reasons"; it is us. We seem to have lost touch with our sense of purpose. Goals, dreams and plans that a few weeks or months ago seemed alive and real and filled with the fire of our intentions seem now to us drab, lifeless and vague. What had seemed a tremendously exciting project now strikes us as ephemeral. Great possibilities no longer seem possible, our positive thoughts all seem to sink into a well of frustration.

The French have a name for this state of mind. They call it ennui. Ennui is the feeling that one's life really has no meaning. That we are cut off from the unity and the flow of life, that we are mere actions on an empty stage, devoid of purpose. What do we do when we feel this sense of disconnectedness with our life? Surrender. There is nothing else to do but surrender ourselves totally to God, to let go of our hold on this level of consciousness so that a new and deeper meaning and purpose can reveal themselves to us. Perhaps we are trying too hard to create our own meaning and purpose and we need only to let go and leave it to God to reveal a new and more profound level of Truth to us. Perhaps it's really very simple. We need to merely release our fearful hold on an old and no longer meaningful state of mind for new life, new joy, new love and enthusiasm to come pouring through our being, filling us with new purpose and direction and drive.