Have you ever had this experience? You ask a friend how they are doing and nine times out of ten you will hear: “I am so tired!” Being the ever solicitous type you will ask, “Why is that?” Then you get the canned, or clichéd response, “I am so busy!” Gosh! Then you think to yourself. “Well, I am busy too. In fact, everyone is busy. Why are these people complaining?” In short, they are complaining because they have not accessed their personal peace. Many individuals state that their life goals are “peace and happiness.” These are not goals; these are realities that exist inside every human being. The drug addict or the alcoholic uses substances to realize short-term artificial pleasure, causing untold harm to his limited time in this dimension: as Kozma Prutkov, the pen name used by A. K. Tolstoy, (1) tells us.”If you want to be happy, be (in the present).” The past is gone, the future is imminent, we only have now. To get in this state, however, requires that ill-thought-of word: work. You must spend daily time in reflection, study or prayer: hopefully all three.
Like most of us, I feel pretty good: physically, mentally and spiritually. Life has not rewarded me with the capitalistic promise of the riotous American Dream, unbridled wealth and power. But in my own way, I am pleased with my existence: I believe that I matter and I am making a difference in the world. My reality is dynamic and always capable of improvement, but I have made peace with my actuality and my place in the cosmos. In all of the above statements, I have focused on the “I”: how I see the world. Isn’t this the beginning quotient to my being? I must place value on my life. If I choose to identify it as insignificant it is; if I see it as adventurous and filled with a sense of wonder, it also is. The key connection, I maintain, is that we are social animals and can only find our ultimate connectivity to the universe through the helping and nurturing of others. They, however, must “meet us half way.” (2). People must also commit to their lives, their mission:
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day. (3)
What Longfellow (4) is telling us, of course, is to “get going,” just begin. Life is about action, success we must leave to serendipity and to God. If we are not “in the game,” we negate the opportunities for achievement. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), the great scholar and motivator leaves us with a thought:
Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.
A closing thought: I remind myself that I have power within me. If I want to lead a successful life (and I define what success means to me), I mostly can. At the very least, I must try. I think our human experience shows that both the financially impoverished and the wealthy can be unhappy: conversely, they can be happy. Lucre is not the answer to happiness, but it is most certainly necessary. The universe is just: you are usually rewarded for your efforts. What all of this indicates is that we have free will: we can overcome any adversity – no matter how horrible.
To sum up: This week, we spoke about finding your precious peace through your personal commitment to you and your development. It is all within your grasp.
An amusing occurrence: Bureaucracy is an interesting phenomenon: I remember crossing a stern and frightening border several years ago, concertina barbed wire, dogs and the like. I had my visa application pre-approved, so there was no problem. However, as I had not visited the country before, I had not filled in the space labeled: Name and Address of Hotel. The border guard, sporting truly fabulous epaulettes, fixated on this point. “Where are you going to stay?” he asked in heavily accented English. “I have no idea,” I responded, in a rather dismissive tone – it was after all 3 o’clock in the morning. “What did you say?” his voice taking on that dangerously arrogant lilt. I realized immediately that this was a major sticking/ refusal point. “I’m sorry: I said the Hotel Crimea.” “How do you spell that?” was his riposte. “Welcome to our country.”
Just for fun, Billy Preston: Nothing From Nothing
This week, please reflect on the strength that each of us has. We can all uncover our personal peace and happiness: yoga anyone?
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: It is actually a very long life with a virtually unlimited amount of “nows.”
Footnotes:
1) http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/literature/aleksey-k-tolstoy/
2) This means to compromise and put effort into an activity.
3) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44644/a-psalm-of-life
4) https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/henry-wadsworth-longfellow