“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment”- Marcus Aurelius
There are seasons for everything. All is transient and continually unfolding. Your emotions and desires are also constantly changes. For example: I remember when I purchased my first car. I was fifteen years old at the time, anticipating my 16th birthday and the ability to drive; I wanted to have my own car on my birthday. Working at a drug store part time after school I had spotted my dream car in a used car dealership next to a garage. Inquiring, I discovered that the mechanic who owned the garage was selling the car; I remember the look on his face when I told him I wanted to buy his car. His wiry smile, along with his questionable stare, told me that he did not believe I had the money. Truth is, I didn’t at the time. But, a week later I gave him my entire savings as a down payment. It took six months for me to pay for the car. Throughout that time I would, visit the garage, fantasize and imagine myself driving my car one day. I had so much joy anticipating the day I would drive the car off the lot. I remember the intense thrill when the day finally came. But as time wore on I got used to having the car, until I lost interest and set my sights on something else. The season of my desire changed.
It seems all our desires have a season like nature: planting – harvesting- digesting and returning. We are constantly- wanting- getting- using- discarding. And throughout this process life whittles away at us leaving only what really matters.
This process of chasing things continued in my life. I moved from one thing to the next until one day it occurred to me that things can only satisfy for a period in time. Many time my wanting led to more cravings. The lasting joy I was looking for could not be held in things.
I believe at some point we all come to wanting deeper lasting joy in our life. I discovered real lasting joy comes from connecting to the higher power (whatever that means to you). The source of all existence- the higher self creates a source of joy that is not rested on the material world but is based on a deeper feeling of living a life with meaning. As we travel through life the values we hold change and as the seasons come and go we can look at the shifting time to reflect on what has true meaning to us.
I believe the key to successful living is learning how to live in harmony with the changing cycles of your life. It’s important to constantly ask yourself questions like: What inspires me? Who is the expert of my life? Do I believe in myself? Do what I believe serve my highest good? Below are some simple points to help you reap a richer harvest in life:
Higher Will
Connect to the higher will: the collective unconscious we all are. This will only works for the benefit of all beings. Your willingness to serve a higher purpose can inspire you to achieve greater asperations and inspire others to do so as well.
Intuition
Get quiet and ask yourself a question you need an answer to. Ask it as a thought and listen to the answer you give yourself as a thought. Listen, feel. Then obey the deepest urges of your heart, following your deepest feelings.
Faith
Only when we find faith in ourselves can we have faith in others. You are more than what you have read, heard, or studied; you know more because you are more; you are a direct link to universal wisdom; you only have to look, listen and trust.
Flexibility
Flexibility is more that being passive or resisting. It is to make use of the winds of change by putting up windmills and harnessing the power to fuel your life. When we stay flexible we make the best use of difficult and changing circumstances. Every painful experience becomes a spiritual lesson.
Non-judgment
By not judging we open to learn what god teaches through natural consequences. As youth fades and time brings changes, we may change many of our present opinions. So let us refrain from setting ourselves up as judge of the highest matters.
