“Addiction, self-sabotage, procrastination, laziness, rage, chronic fatigue, and depression are all ways that we withhold our full participation in the program of life we are offered. When the conscious mind cannot find a reason to say no, the unconscious says no in its own way.”
― Charles Eisenstein, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible
Not a day goes by where I don’t meet someone who laments the trauma of their soul. More often than not, it’s doing work they hate but it also shows up being compelled to play by a set of rules that are antithetical to their being-ness.
Think about it. When we live separate from our soul — our true self — something has to give. It usually shows up as low-level depression (which we’re apt to call stress) but could just as easily show up as anger or faux happiness.
On a macro level, what have we created? A lustful, greedy and self-centred society where the mentality is focused on living as long as possible, on the best possible terms, whatever the consequences. On a micro level, it means chasing our tail in pursuit of a necessary but profoundly unworldly way of living. No matter how sustainable we think our modus operandi, we know we’re having a deleterious impact on the planet, but more especially we’re dying from the inside out.
With the weight of expectation hanging over us, it’s no wonder that many people give up before they’ve even begun: “What’s the point? I can’t make a difference.” All credit to those people and groups who’ve taken a stand but I’ve no sense that the world is on the cusp of seismic change to address our obsession with material wealth, growth and our separation from nature.
Does that mean we’re doomed to lose another existential battle? Yes, unless we’re prepared to journey within and understand that “the unexamined life” is really not worth living. When I say ‘life’, I don’t mean the superficial banality but something more profound, i.e. we determine to show up as true self, whatever the consequences.
To be clear, in journeying within, this isn’t to serve our ego. This is to narrow the gap between the world we live in, and the one we know is possible.
I think we need to turn our backs on mass media, read more widely (I’ve listed a few books below) and speak up in the face of the inequality we bear witness to. From there I hope we might raise our consciousness to the point where we’d be less apt to accept the status quo as the only way to live.
One other thing. You need to investigate the meaning of money. If your default position is the sense of lack that comes from not having ‘enough’ (which bears no relation to what we actually need) then none of what I say will make a jot of difference.
Remember the soul is expressive of your genius, but it can just as easily hide away when it’s forced to live in circumstances that shield it from love, kindness and a world of beauty.
Recommended books
The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible, Charles Eisenstein
30 Lies About Money: liberating your life, liberating your money, Peter Koenig
New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton
Reinventing Organizations, Frederic Laloux