Within Without
If you journey within, you won’t go without. It really is that simple. The truth is that for most of us, we think that we’d be happier when we get this, or want that. But all that stuff is usually distraction. Distraction from what? Knowing that we have enough. Are enough. More is not always better. More often means more problems.
I’ve been blessed to be both a rich man, and a poor man. And today, I think I am threading the needle. Sure there are things that I want. But, I have money in the bank, carry very little debt and can afford to travel 8 to 10 times a year. A far cry from having unlimited resources like I had in the past. But when I bottomed out and lost everything {not once, but twice}, I totally get it now. I appreciate it, work hard for it and share it whenever possible. But lets get back to that journey…
Despite being both a rich man and a poor man, I have leaned into a life of meditation. True, more so when I was poor. But the foundation was already in place. And when those dark days came for me, I was in a pretty good head space to deal with them. Meditation is what makes me effective doing crisis work. Ask anyone that has worked with me, I simply do not panic. There is a rhythm that comes with meditation. A flow of energy that creates peace. Sure things still go wrong. But we don’t complicate them, because we focus on what we do have, and not what we don’t.
While I am advocating for meditation, I really am saying take stock. Do you want something or need it? Because many times we confuse the two. I know I have been guilty of that. But that is a rare occasion now a days. Quiet the mind. Stop the perpetual motion. The answers will come. The trick is to override our desire to think that we need more. Maybe we do. But in my 38 years of providing mental health services, most do not. When we forgive and love ourselves, that is a currency that no one can take away from us.
All I am saying today is pause. We can’t outrun the bullets that life throws at us. But we can shelter in place. And most times that is enough to live another day. And isn’t that really the end game? Live another day…
