In a way, there’s no point in action. We will all die – there’s no doubt about that – and any impression we’ve made on the world will quickly vanish, too.
Our proudest achievements are as fleeting as the wind.
Our finest hour is as solid as a monument made of sand.
Who knows what Cyrus the Great or Leo the Great or Tamar the Great did in their time?
Even the most famous people in all of human history will be forgotten a million years from now.
So what hope does an ordinary person have of making a permanent mark on the world?
It’s all a passing play, after all.
And yet, there’s something magnificent in action that’s completely authentic. It’s a sight to behold when someone lives out their deepest callings. It’s beautiful to see a human being completely immersed in this moment and moving in tune with the universe.
A busker is playing the violin in a square in Jerusalem. A thousand people walk past in the hour. No one is listening. Everyone’s on their phones. But still she plays, the strings resonating love and loss. I’ve never seen anyone play with more heart. It’s perfect action.
A retired architect is making miniature trains out of wood in his workroom in Tokyo. He hopes to gift one to each of his friends. But he worries that his work is worthless and no one will want it. Still, he crafts the trains diligently and with care. It’s perfect action.
An entrepreneur is speaking at a conference in San Francisco. She tells her audience that, when she was 17, she had a moment of clarity: she realised she could choose to be happy, simply by doing what she loved. And what she loved was connecting people and making them feel at home. She is brimming with life. She has found her stage.
But perfect action isn’t reserved for an enlightened few. We all do it at different times.
An accountant is reciting his favourite poem – eagerly, theatrically. A car mechanic is watering her garden – peacefully, tenderly. An IT consultant is dancing the tango – precisely, passionately. A captain glimpses the sunset as his ship prepares for battle.
Then a parent is holding their newborn – cautiously, lovingly. A child is splashing in the ocean – carelessly, rapturously. A woman is cooking her friend a meal – uncertainly, thoughtfully. An elderly man gazes at the love of his life in the hour before his death.
This is what they’re meant to be doing in that moment. And even if it’s unnoticed, and even though it will be forgotten, it’s effortlessly graceful, and meaningful in and of itself.
For the spiritually-inclined, it’s a reflection of the divine spark in all of us.
And for the resolutely material, it remains a picture of freedom and beauty.
In the words of the Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, it speaks to the “uniqueness and singleness which distinguishes each individual and gives a meaning to his existence.”
No matter if it doesn’t change the course of history, or alter even one day of the world.
It’s action in the purest sense of the word – action for its own sake.
Because the action is true.
Because the action must be taken.
It’s like a note finding its place in a harmony, or an arrow sailing towards a bullseye.
It’s a resounding celebration of life.
Of course, it doesn’t mean we can all paint like Michelangelo or play football like Messi.
There’s barely any chance that we’ll even be the best in our own little arena.
But even though our actions may be clumsy, ugly, messy and mundane …
Even if we doubt them one hundred times over …
Even if they go unappreciated and unnoticed –
In that moment when our action is true and reflects our most essential self, it is perfect.
Action for other purposes – to impress people, to become renowned, to quicken one’s arrival at a future destination – so much of this is hubris, and a play of the ego.
It cannot stand against infinity.
Even the statue of Ozymandias – King of Kings – becomes a “colossal Wreck”, says Shelley.
But action that is true, action that comes from the soul – that’s the beauty of life.
And though it will fade from memory and be forgotten in time –
Because it is perfect in this moment, it is ultimately eternal.
Soulful Thoughts 