I Want Everything!
I recently read a book to a 2-year old entitled "Spend It" by Cinders McLeod. In that book, the little boy was learning that his weekly allowance given to him by his parents could be used to buy toys and things that he wanted. The little boy said to his mother "I want to buy everything!"
I think all of us are familiar with the part of ourselves that if it could, would buy everything it wanted, when it wanted it. Right?
The interesting thing is...if buying and owning things that we believe will make us happy and fulfilled, why is it that we continue to buy and want more?
Have you ever noticed that children that have a plethora of toys, typically only play (regularly) with a few? I have known parents that give their child 3 or 4 toys to play with for a certain period of time, and then change out those toys with new ones for another certain period of time...on and on like that. I actually liked the idea when I saw it.
Those children learned to use the few toys they were given to create "play acting scenarios". They came to know everything about each of those toys and how they operated. They became very creative in finding new ways to play with them. You could say, as well, that they became happy and content with less.
That is quite contrary to what the world professes as what is needed for us to be happy and content, which is - More, More More!
Most of us are so very fortunate to have what we have in our lives, but most of us aren't happy and content with what we have. There is always a part of us that wants more.
The real truth is that there is a part of us that knows deep down that something is missing from our lives, but we are constantly misguided into believing that buying "more and more" is the answer to fulfilling that so-called missing element.
Is there something missing from our lives? Yes. it is WE that are missing from our lives - from real life.
We are constantly listening to our minds tell us what we need in order to be whole and happy, but that mind that we listen to is a hungry ghost. No matter what IT tells us we need in order to be happy and content, to fulfill that missing element, it knows it will never truly satisfy that missing "piece of the puzzle." It continues to feed us answers nonetheless because we continue to listen to it and do its bidding, and that gives it an illusory life, a false sense of authority, and a false sense that the hungry ghost truly exists.
So, what is the answer?
Many of you have heard of the phrase "Eat, Pray, Sleep." Those three things are what we need in order to truly live in this world. The body needs to eat, the body needs to sleep. The soul needs to pray, but the praying part is where we have taken a wrong turn in this world. Real prayer isn't to ask God or a higher power to do something for us or for another. You see when we do that, what we are really asking God for is to "change what is" because we want it another way - our way.
True prayer is a moment to moment relationship with Life, with what is unfolding moment to moment. It is a communion with Life, an agreement with Life because when we take part in that relationship, we know all is and always has been perfectly well. Nothing is as it appears to be, as it is seen from ourselves.
To live an "Eat, Accumulate, Sleep" life is no life at all, because we are not communing with real life moment to moment. Instead, we are communing with a Hungry Ghost that can never be satisfied or satiated, nor know anything of real life.
To live an "Eat, Pray, Sleep" life is truly living because we aren't apart from Life because we move effortlessly with it - and don't resist it. We know that we are given all that we need moment to moment . We don't have to pray for anything to be different than what it is because in agreeing to move with and be a part of that real Life, we know that everything is fulfilling the spiritual law that gave it its birth. Nothing needs to be added to that.
Want what Life wants. (Guy Finley)
Human beings were created for the purpose of serving, not from themselves, but from the spiritual powers that can become theirs - if that is what they choose. (Vernon Howard)
Choose that higher life and it will be yours.
Image courtesy of: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-teddy-bear-on-brown-wooden-bench-outside-207891/
