As it says in the Tao Te Ching, “To the person of the world, everyday something is gained. To the person of Tao, everyday something is lost.”
 
These few words are very profound and are a simple, yet ideal, guideline for how one can emerge into becoming the best representation of themselves.
 
These words also depict a clear representation of the mindset possessed in Zen. By following the path of least resistance, while removing as many desires and, thus, obstacles from your life as possible, you will emerge into a clearer state of understanding.
 
Think about your own life. Think about the things that you do on a daily basis. Look into your mind. What desires are you bound by? Look around your life, how have the possessions you own helped your existence and how have they hindered your reality? What did the process of obtaining them do to your reality, then, now, and beyond?
 
Most people do very specific things each day of their life. The foods, the drinks, and the substances they intake come to define who they are, what they become, and how they will eventually die. They define how they interact with the world around them. What they do to earn a living is also the same.  What they do as a means to make a living, and what they do in their spare time all contribute to the karma they create, not only for themselves but for all of those who are close to them and beyond. Yet, most people never question any of this, they simply do. But, in that doing, birth, creation, and their ultimate demise are all set into motion.
 
Stop right now. What do you do on a daily basis that does not contribute to a pure mind and a more purified living space for yourself and all of those around you? What have you created in your life, the life of those you love, and the greater world as a whole by what you are doing and what you have done?
 
If you do not think about this on a daily basis, don’t you believe that you should?
 
The problem is, most people never take the time to question, study, and then very consciously form their own reality. They are simply cast to whatever life hands them, defined by what they like and/or do not like. They never study how what they do not only affects the ultimate outcome of their life but the life of all those around them. How about you?   
 
The things is, you can live a more clear, more pure, and more actualized life, if you choose to. The question is, do you choose to? Are you willing to remove all of things that remove the purity from your life and enter into a space of conscience refinement?  The fact is, all choices that lead to any life of betterment must be made by you. They must a conscience choice leading to conscience action. They cannot be forced on you. What choice to do you make?
 
Ultimately, your life comes down to what you plan to do with it. The definition of your life comes down to what you have done to others.
 
What have you lived? What have you done? What are you living? What are you doing? Is what you are living and what you are doing making you a better, more pure, and more enlightened individual? Or, is what you are doing casting your shadows of unenlightened behavior out and onto all those you know and all of those who come into contact with you?
 
As is always the case, your life is your choice. What are you going to do with that choice; live a life defined by purity and refined consciousness or not?