What do you really want? What is the true freedom you’re longing for? Oftentimes we define it as being able to do whatever we want whenever we want. One fantasy might include being able to quit our job after winning the lottery and travel around the world. Maybe we could buy whatever we desire and live like lifestyles of the rich and famous. Perhaps it is something else entirely different that would represent freedom to you.
The point is, we end up mistaking things like money, special love relationships, fame and recognition as the gateway to freedom and happiness. All of the above-mentioned items are wonderful things and we should enjoy them, but the truth is that we ultimately want what we think these things will represent or bring into our lives. We can easily look around us to see that obtaining fame, riches or a special relationship does not equate to the removal of our unhappiness or depression.
At best it satisfies us for a brief while, then it seems unable to provide the “fix” we thought it would. There are endless stories of lottery winners returning to their same level of unhappiness within two years of winning it big. We find great, lasting love, only to separate or divorce a few years later. If you’ve lived a human life, you get what I’m saying.
Why is this? It is because we can’t change our internal state by making changes to the external environment. If we don’t feel freedom, happiness, joy, peace or love within ourselves or our current circumstances then we are coming from a place of lack. We are essentially trying to find the right situation or circumstances that will make us feel better, more hopeful or less anxious. We all do this to some degree. But true authentic freedom comes from shifting our focus from outside to inside.
From this stable, firm foundation we can begin anew. The first step in generating our capacity to live a truly “wealthy” life starts with knowing what we really want. Most people have that question trained out of them. They don’t really think about what they want, they think about what they can have or create based on the conditions/circumstances of their life. Meaning, what does my age, education, background, health status, economy, bank account tell me that I can have or create. Asking different questions leads to different thinking and that leads to different outcomes…all possible outcomes.
When we come from an understanding that we are interconnected with all of the universe, we begin to relax into knowing that everything we need will be provided and that it’s only our thinking that is creating the problem. We tell ourselves a very disturbing dialogue about our current circumstance by playing worst case scenarios over in our heads.
The reality is that we are consciousness. Our essence is energy. We are way more powerful than we realize. We have the ability to choose by our will, the thoughts we think and where we place our attention. Each of us has life circumstance that we are thrilled with and life circumstances we would prefer to change. True freedom and happiness come from realizing that I don’t have to wait for those circumstances to change. I can decide to be to be fulfilled and at peace today, in this moment.
In this three-dimensional world, impermanence is the ruling force. Life is a moving target. The stability and grounding come from knowing that we are consciousness. And while this physical world is impermanent, we are eternal.
We existed before our first breath and will exist after we take our last breath. Then life seems less urgent and troubled. Each moment becomes an opportunity to connect with the world and share ourselves and gifts with the people around us. There is less struggling and grasping and more relaxing and giving with an open heart – knowing that we are blessed, we are loved and we are taken care of…always.
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