Why do we put off happiness now by believing that our true happiness lies in some utopian future? Why don’t we realise that this utopian future can never be and that it is only right here and now in this moment that we can be at peace and find true happiness.
We only have to learn to become self aware to achieve this – instead of sleep-walking through life in a daze on a path dictated to our subconscious by a belief system that is not our own but is inherited from society.
It is about real living. We hear in the news a lot about fake news these days. The problem isn’t fake news, the problem is fake lives. Inauthentic lives – at every level of society – from the humblest and poorest to the richest and most powerful. Lives of fear and self-repression. It is not real living. It is us living in fear of things we can’t even name. Ultimately the fear of death itself – which is the end fear of all fears.
So how do I define real living in this context? Well, it is my belief that if each one of us strive to adopt the following even 50% of the time, it would make a massive difference to our individual lives. Now just imagine the sum total of all those changed individual lives.
I define real living as being yourself as fully and as far as possible so that the You that you keep private eventually becomes the You that you present to the world without fear or anxiety. To be transparent to the point where ‘what you see is what you get’ and to feel great about that.
It is being able to live in the present moment without being dictated by your past or by a fearful imagined future.
It’s about doing what you want with your life and not giving a damn what anyone else has to say about it – whoever they may be and however well meaning they may be.
It’s about waking up each morning and feeling invigorated and excited to start your day because you just discovered you have an amazing life and that you are an amazing individual.
It’s about feeling like you won the lottery – even though you haven’t.
It’s about being happy with who you are, where you are, what you have, rich or poor.
It’s about knowing that there is nothing that anyone can say, or do that can ever take this amazing feeling away from you.
It’s about knowing that that you no longer have to rely on anything or anyone else to bring you happiness, because you have realised that “there is no way to happiness – happiness is the way” (Quote: Thich Nhat Hanh)
It’s about becoming aware of the real you – the one who operates your body, who thinks your thoughts.
It is about being able to live every minute of your life and move through each minute of your life with complete awareness of everything you think, feel and do – to the extent that you are no longer a victim of your life but instead the creator of your life.
It’s about knowing you have an immense journey and making a decision right here and right now that you are going to relish and savour every step.
It’s about deciding that never again will you live in fear, regrets or wistful thinking but instead will recognise that everything was meant to be – to bring you here to this moment in time – this moment of revelation.
It’s about finally realising that you need no-one’s permission to live the life of your dreams and that the only one holding you back is you.
It’s about finally realising that all that negative stuff serves a purpose – it gives you wisdom to see how it has infected everything you have perceived as your reality – every experience you had, everything that anyone said to you, did to you, withheld from you, put upon you.
It is realising that through your thoughts you turned a moment of fear into a lifetime of anxiety and that with this realisation comes liberation.
It is about that moment when the veil is finally lifted and you suddenly realise with a jolt that your life is happening right here, right now, in front of you and that you have unconsciously created every moment of it – and with it, the awesome realisation that you don’t have to have it this way anymore.
It’s when you finally realise that you are the star of the show – the movie of your life – not a bit-part actor in someone else’s life story. And it’s realising that everyone loves this movie because it is real, it is authentic and it has depth and meaning.
It is remembering that you are more than just somebody’s son, daughter, brother, sister, wife, husband, partner, father, mother.
You are more than just a citizen of a nation state, a national insurance or social security number, a passport number, a follower of a religion, a plumber, a scientist, a social worker, a doctor.
It is when you realise you are much, much more than your job.
It’s when you realise you are unique, one of a kind, a one off. There is no one else like you.
It’s about realising that the world is your canvas too – and the whole world is not just waiting for you to paint your picture, but it needs you to paint your picture – to complete your part in the great universal tapestry of existence.
It’s when you realise you are the artist of your life and you have everything in your power to make it the most beautiful work of art that you can imagine and that every action and thought leaves a trace in the universe.
It’s when you realise that there’s nothing to be afraid of anymore and that the past is the past and is gone and you have a choice to select a glorious future.
It’s when you realise that the you which you thought you were is not really you – but is in fact something infinitely greater.
It is looking at yourself in the mirror, into your own soul and being aware of the higher intelligence which is expressing itself through this body.
It is seeing your true beauty and not needing anyone else to validate it
It is finally removing the borrowed filters and lenses through which you have viewed the world and experiencing it without prejudice as it really is in the way it relates to the real you.
It is stepping out of your own shadow and turning to face the sun.
It is about realising that all of this is within your reach if only you would reach out and take it.
It is realising that you love yourself so much that from this moment on you make a vow to yourself that you will be the best friend to yourself that you could ever have.
It is knowing that in the end it’s all going to work out just fine.
It is knowing that once you were lost, but now you are found.
It is knowing that none of this will cost you a penny and is worth more than anything money can buy.
It is knowing that it is good to be you and that you wouldn’t change it for all the money in the world!
If you want to change the world – first change yourself.
Now, that, my friend, is living! 🙂
free 2 think zone 