Is it better to cut costs, to live simply, and minimally — so to relieve the stress of needing to work harder, or to earn more money? Or, is it better to shift the focus to finding higher paying work, or starting, developing and/or growing your business — and thus, ideally, having earnings such that your lifestyle isn’t curbed or affected by money anymore?
It’s quite a subjective argument, as what one person values and wants out of life differs from the next. And, of course, there are many other income and earning options out in the world. Speaking in general terms, however, I think we’d all prefer less stress than more; if we believe that more money will equate with less stress, then the answer is either cut costs, or earn more. Seems simple enough. But, maybe that’s not the right question to be asking.
“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”
— Henri Bergson
In my experience, my lifestyle adapts to my income level. More income generally means fewer constraints in spending, more fuck it, live now sentimentality (and thus, spending), and other beliefs of that ilk. Unconsciously, I tend to fall into certain habits based on what kind of money is coming in, if any. The trouble with this is that most of these habits were formed way before I was aware they were even habits — and most of them were informed, programmed, and conditioned by my environment, planting a certain limited variety of seeds into my subconscious. Thus, my behavior was and is modeled based on those parameters. They aren’t necessarily good practices, and this in itself is an incredibly powerful realization to become aware of: we can change our fundamental conditions at any time in life, but we won’t integrate and apply them with any permanence without the will, the practice, and the acceptance of new and different ways of both looking at and experiencing life.
Our old story is our current identity. Death to any part of our identity doesn’t come without a certain amount of upheaval.
Additionally, these basic habits also ensure that things that have been awaiting funding, or time, or focus and energy, can quickly fall down into the abyss of endless deferment, as what is now invariably takes precedence. If we’ve been struggling at merely staying afloat for a long time, the predominance of scarcity and lack consciousness maintains itself, regardless of what we start earning. Thus, if you go from nearly zero, to even hundreds, or thousands of dollars per day or week, your established practices with finances will dictate how you treat this income. If you’ve been wanting forever to save up for something, simply because you haven’t been in the practice of already doing so, you’re not instantly going to switch into that philosophy and start saving, now. Furthermore, your unconscious money habits can and will potentially sabotage any forward progress because your mind and body are hardwired to being what you were before.
We do this in all areas of our lives. Most obviously, in relationships. Whether we’re mostly alone, or mostly coupling, there are things that’ll get missed, ignored, delayed, forgotten, and relegated to the dusty shelves in our hearts and minds, because what is in front of us takes up more than enough of our mental and spiritual resources. Unfortunately, we all know that these things cannot forever be ignored, because inevitably, they’ll explode into our reality in one way or another — because our default, universal purpose, is always growth and expansion.
Resistance is painful.
As with anything, this isn’t just about the doing aspects of life. It’s always more about the feeling aspects. We’re not merely machines, and in this age of awakening, you’re going to be pressed to get all up in the feels, more and more. It’s the only way to dispel, deconstruct, process and heal chronic, systemic, karmic and stagnant energetic traumas — individually and collectively. The more we engage in this work, the less we’ll need to worry about cancer research, racism, equality, politics, the climate, and changing the world.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
— Aristotle
It doesn’t matter if you’re living in a cardboard box, or if you’re a billionaire. All humans are powerful beings of energy that co-create, and add to the universal story. As we progress in the elevation of conscious awareness, we start working at higher levels of conscious action. Win-win-win.
Solvitur ambulando