May 06 2008
Praying For What We Don’t Have
An old friend, Michael, wrote recently. He said he envied my life here in Bali, that he wished he had the courage to live similarly.
He wrote: I worry about finances, health insurance and all that crap. I wish I could free my mind of such things. Could I make ends meet?
Now, some of you reading this have taken the step that he’s afraid to take. You’ve broken out of some conditioning just to live – whether for a moment, a month or forever – outside of the culture in which you grew up.
And it’s all relative. For some, living in a different culture is easy, no challenge, doesn’t require courage. For others it’s huge.
Michael, like many people, has dug himself an early grave and he’s in it. Not buried. There’s still light. He could climb out anytime.
“I worry about finances and health insurance.”
He bought the package. Insurance companies make a fortune off the same fear that he’s living with. And let’s not be fooled, health care, real care, real health, is not their primary concern.
Regardless, there’s no benefit in demonizing the insurance companies. They’re simply doing what they do. Yet Michael is living his life two feet below the surface of the earth.
Of course it’s ‘normal’ to worry about such things. Lots of people do it. Yet what’s ‘normal’ is no better a barometer to what’s healthy or helpful than getting financial tips from a poor person. Worry is making him sick and poor.
I wish I could free my mind of all that crap, he writes.
‘Bullsh&*%t,’ I respond. If he wanted to free his mind he would. As the saying goes ‘try is a lie.’
A couple of examples: “I wish I could have a great job that’s creatively satisfying, lucrative and stress-free.” Some reading this will agree: ‘I do wish that.’ Others, those who have this already, know that it’s not a matter of wishing it – though of course we must vision it first – it’s a matter of creating it. Possible or impossible?
A more obvious example: ‘I wish I could pick up that glass of coconut water.’ A clear example? It really is like Yoda said: “there is no try. There’s only do and don’t do.” If it’s not obvious yet, try it out – try to pick up the nearest object to you. Don’t pick it up, just try.
I’m not saying that it’s always easy, or happens instantly (though it could). Someone might have to work hard to create his or her dream job. It might take them years. The point is not the time, the point is the possibility. Anything is possible. Realizing that we can do whatever we want instantly brings us out of early graves.
Creating what we want is as easy as changing our beliefs. We can do that in an instant. Yet for many of us, it takes courage and power, it takes some momentum, to break out of the constraint of our inheritance, our conditioning.
Of course I understand Michael’s worries. Most everyone has feared there isn’t enough money, even people who’ve had plenty of money their whole life (especially them). That’s the thing. It’s so universally accepted that there isn’t enough money, everyone’s highly susceptible to believing it.
It comes down to a fear that we won’t be secure. Here’s a news flash: WE’RE NOT SECURE. We never will be. There’s no such thing as security. Life is insecure. No matter what we do to protect ourselves, to guarantee our future, we’re vulnerable to change. A tsunami, an earthquake, a stock market crash.
Here’s a good news flash: there’s no security, and there’s nothing to fear. Isn’t it true? Doesn’t something always work out?
Here’s what Helen Keller said about it:
Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature
Nor do children as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run
Than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change and
Behave like free spirits in the presence of fate
Is strength undefeatable.
Michael wrote that he appreciated my response to him, that it was like a ‘summer breeze.’
Now what will he do with it. Snooze?
Whether he climbs up to create the life he wants or not, it’s a reminder for us. Is there something in our lives that we lie to ourselves about and say is impossible? Are we living below our potential (below the ground)?
Alarm bells are ringing. Sometimes it’s a summer breeze and sometimes it’s an earthen tremble. Either brings the question what do we wish to create. The answer is up to us.
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Daniel Aaron has devoted his life to the art of vibrant living. Awareness of our incredible potential for happiness, and that we are naturally encoded with everything we need to realize it, has led him on amazing personal and professional explorations in the fields of health and consciousness. From yoga with the modern masters, to world travel with enlightened teachers, to delving into radical nutrition and cleansing, this zest for life has resulted in a treasure chest of gems.
Now, thriving in Ubud, Bali he’s blessed to guide others to experience their maximum delight - through yoga, astrology, nutrition (raw food), writing, counseling, humor and whatever is holistically helpful.
