We often let life play us by conforming to societal pressures, chasing external success, and accepting conditional relationships, all while believing in scarcity. True abundance, however, is found by shifting our perspective and embracing what is already present, recalibrating our inner compass, and letting go of imposed expectations and old patterns.
* * *
We choose how, where, when, and with whom to engage in this game of life. The “what” and “why” are a given: to learn. But isn’t it interesting how we sometimes choose to let the game play us?
We are conditioned by our environment, and modern cultures reflect a pervasive negative bias. Foundational archetypes and underlying themes appear everywhere: struggle, polarity, and violence are often seen as more heroic and socially acceptable than ease, grace, and lightness. Fear of sickness, pain, and death is more acceptable than joy in living, breathing, and experiencing the profound spiritual freedom of every waking moment.
Misinformation, disinformation, commerce, capitalism, and the inanity of divisive mainstream media keep us in perpetual distress — or worse, a chronic state of fight-or-flight. The more we conform to what is common and politically correct, the less space our spirits have to dance in their boundless freedom.
In our careers, we strive for success, but it’s never enough. We chase money, merits, material gains, or certificates to frame — anything to rationalize the pain, struggle, and quiet desperation we willingly endure, or to defer or avoid the necessary reality checks and soul-searching existential crises.
In relationships, we often accept conditionality: we chase love, tolerate mediocrity, or try to “fix” each other. We avoid asking critical, value-based questions before getting serious, surrendering instead to impulse, attraction, or infatuation. We adapt superficially to meet the needs of the relationship or, worse, remain on the lookout for “red flags” and other mostly trivial concerns that can sabotage what could be a truly meaningful, growth-inspiring connection. Perhaps we unconsciously believe we are unworthy of happiness, fulfillment, and stability. We’re afraid of what might happen if we ask for what we need, rushing toward it yet simultaneously pulling back.
As artists, we may submit to distorted ideas influenced by capitalist concerns. We feel disappointed with only a handful of fans or supporters, wishing instead for hundreds of thousands. Yet in truth, a relatively small audience of dedicated, invested, and engaged fans can sustain us throughout our entire career.
Perhaps these spiritual checks and balances serve to gauge our commitment to our purpose and recalibrate our inner compass. Or maybe these unsettling feelings arise to remind us of old patterns still lingering within, protesting or projecting from beneath the surface. It may be time to sit quietly with whatever it is, allowing it one last sing-through before we turn the page.
Scarcity thrives on lack — needing, wanting, seeking, and fearing we’re missing out — concerns that are both unnatural and rarely of our own making. Abundance, by contrast, is the knowing, remembering, and embodying of what is always present, regardless of imposed expectations and conditions.
There is no lack of abundance. And yet, there’s a pervasive belief in an abundance of lack. It all depends on our perspective, and we can change the parameters of our reality in the blink of an eye.
Love your life.
“Shut It Down, Turn It Off” from The Reluctant Pilgrim, Part II