Today's
Meditation:
It's
always interesting to me to hear people talk about finding
themselves. Whenever they say that they're trying to
do so, the first thought that always enters my mind is,
"Well, here you are, standing right in front of
me." And while I know that there's more to the
idea than knowing where the physical self is, I also know
that finding oneself more than likely is simpler than most
people believe. I think the major problem is that
most people haven't defined or identified just what
they're looking for, and therefore have no idea what
they've found even when they do find it.
May's
words resonate with me. In most of my experience, I
find that the best things come to me when I'm focused on
accomplishing something that's important to me or someone
else. I find that keeping my mind occupied with a
certain pursuit allows my subconscious mind to work on
other things, and keeps my conscious mind--and thus the
trouble-maker ego, also--out of the search for things like
peace or happiness or my inner self. You see, the
ego wants to find things on its terms, not on the object's
terms. The ego doesn't want to accept things as they
are, but to receive things just as the ego wishes to
receive them. Life doesn't work that way, but just
try telling that to your ego!
Discipline
and routine are great teachers, and we would do ourselves
a great favor if we would stop searching so hard and so
actively and allow things to happen. I searched for
years for a steady relationship, trying to make it happen
whenever I met a woman, only to stop searching finally
when I realized the damage I was doing myself. A few
months after I stopped searching and started focusing more
strongly on the work I was doing, I met the woman who was
to become my wife. I didn't try to make anything
happen, but just tried to enjoy her company, come what
may. A year later, we were married, and we still
are, twenty years later.
By
shifting my focus, I finally learned a lot about who I was
and who I wanted to be. And in learning that, I
became a more attractive person to others, for I was much
more enjoyable to be around--much less stressed out, and
much less desperate.
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