Have you realized that almost everybody is looking for more?
Some people are too miserable to get out of bed and they just want to be able to go about their lives "normally"...
Other people go about their lives "normally" but want to do so in a more extravagant manner...
And then there are people who have an extravagant life but realize that all the riches still leave them feeling empty and wanting more...
How much will it take people to realize that it's not about what you have or what you don't have on the outside that makes you fulfilled?
We think we need permission to feel better, and that permission is through external things.
How could we feel good if we don't have all the money we want?
How on Earth could we be happy if we're in a job we hate?
How could I feel joy in this relationship?
Gosh, I've asked myself these types of questions my whole life.
Don't get me wrong, I still catch myself wanting to improve the outer conditions, but I really have to wonder why. Ultimately, any improvement in my outer conditions is to improve my inner conditions, and the inner conditions of those around me.
I still sometimes think that if I just can have a bit more money, I'd be happier. For me, it's if I had a specific lifestyle where I'm making enough money from my computer, so I can travel more, spend more time with my girlfriend and family, and only focus on things I'm passionate about. I definitely do find myself wanting this lifestyle.
But I have to ask myself why? Is it what I really want? Or do I just want a total sense of well-being, and I think that those things will bring me that?
Now, it's totally okay to go after those things, and I still plan to do that. What's not okay is to let my desire for those things take away from my joy of the current moment. And it definitely does do that sometimes. I'm sure you can relate as well.
Why is it that we can't be happy with what we have, with the present moment, while also being just as happy on the chase for our future? What if we learned to be fully fulfilled with the present, no matter what our conditions are, while also striving to create more, give more, love more, and be more. Why can't we have both?
I want to challenge the idea that we can only have one or the other, that we can't possibly be fulfilled if we don't have what our ambitions say we have, or that we must be happy when we do accomplish those things.
I really wish true happiness and fulfillment were taken out of the equation of achievement. I wish they were never correlated in the first place, because it screws so many people up, and is the cause of so many problems in the world.
Why can't we discuss happiness and fulfillment as something in and of itself, something of the present moment, nothing else? Then, in another, totally separate discussion, we can talk about achievement, making money, enjoying external things.
Just like rocket ships have nothing to do with spaghetti, I want true happiness to have nothing to do with anything in the external world that isn't the present moment.
Then I think people will be much better off.
Live with substance!
Gabe Orlowitz
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