“The teachings of the Tao and other spiritual masters tell us that everything is perfect. Let’s enjoy the moment, life and everything we encounter. Look for the serenity, beauty and diversity in everything we do, see and experience.” A D Martin
“The unaware life is not worth living.” – Socrates
Are you really aware of what is going on? Do you go about life in a robotic fashion? Have you ever seriously considered why you react to certain things in a particular way? Have you ever really thought about what makes you happy? I am not talking about a short burst of excitement or joy from a special moment, or a cheap thrill that you might find at an amusement park. I am talking about sustained on-going happiness. Before you do anything else, take the time to sit down and relax for an hour or so and think about what truly gives you sustained inner happiness.
Other People’s Expectations Of Us
As a society we have become concerned with having the latest fashions, how we look and impressing others. What for? Who cares? We are trying to fulfil other people’s expectations of us. That doesn’t really make any sense. It just drives us to distraction, always trying to prove ourselves to others. Even when we succeed at creating the right look, social status, image or whatever it is we are trying to achieve, most people don’t notice. So why bother? We are wasting precious time and energy. Would it not make more sense to focus our attention toward a worthy cause as opposed to superficial tendencies?
Our preoccupation with our exterior persona has diverted us from our true self. Some of us strive for years to achieve a level where others recognize us as a ‘success.’ All too often these efforts result in fleeting moments. Then what? We place pressure on ourselves to perform, to be the best while struggling to enjoy life and the moment for what it truly is. We have become conditioned with ‘societal’ influences, forgetting to stop to smell the roses. Today’s world is on the move, go, go, go. Development and progress have been the mantra for many decades, however all of this is about to change. There is no need to prove anything to anyone. That is the sticking point many cannot fathom. There are entire industries that are designed to make us feel inferior and not worthy. The simple motivation for most corporations and industry is to squeeze more dollars from our pockets. The sad reality is that many of these corporations do not care about you, how you look, feel or the impact they are having upon your psyche. They are using every strategy they were taught at business school to manipulate you into making a buying decision.
An Important Piece of Wisdom
We are conditioned to see things as right or wrong, black or white, up or down. The teachings of the Tao and other spiritual masters tell us that everything is perfect. Let’s enjoy the moment, life and everything we encounter. Look for the serenity, beauty and diversity in everything we do, see and experience. It is like the Zen story where the man walks into the butcher and says “I want the best meat you have.” The butcher replies: “It is all the best.” Do you constantly seek the best this or that or are you content with what you have? Why do we want to compete, be stronger, faster, more successful or whatever it may be? Who told us this was right? Do we want to make our fellow brothers and sisters feel inferior? Do we want to say to everyone else that I am better than you? Do we want to segregate society into winners and losers? Let’s look inwards instead of trying to emulate the outside world and get rid of our conditioned states.
Article by Andrew Martin editor of onenesspublishing and author of One ~ A Survival Guide for the Future…