“Finding oneself and one’s path is like waking up on a foggy day. Be patient, and presently the fog will clear and that which has always been there can be seen. The path is already there to follow.”
– Rasheed Ogunlaru
Work is never enough.
No matter how hard we try, we feel there’s always something else.
Not something else to do but, rather, to understand our true purpose.
Too many people get lost in work. It’s understandable when so much of our (clock) time is devoted to turning the wheels to produce… income, output and a result.
But you know, deep down, that something is missing.
Some people think that by changing jobs or careers that somehow the ‘secret’ of Self will reveal itself, but it never does.
Of course, it’s trite to say that our work is not our life, but, if that’s right, what is our life?
To be happy?
The problem is that too many of us equate money or material wealth with happiness. But that process is no more than an on/off way of living. Even when we think we’ve got things sorted, something always comes from left field to disturb the status quo.
The problem is always the problem: everyone is controlled by their endless thoughts of being or having. Imagine though you understood more about the working of the inner mind. (If enlightenment means to quiet your mind then it’s a wonder more people aren’t drawn to understand the power of mindful living, meditation and something where faith plays a bigger part in their lives.)
I’m not decrying the all-consuming urge to get or become something, however, all I know, is that when work is nothing more than a means to an end, it slowly eviscerates our soul. (It’s no wonder that people feel lost and worn down by the system.)
I accept that there are a few people who don’t see work as work. They see it as their calling. But, in my 30 years of being in the employment setting, I never met a single person who didn’t wish they were doing something else, or felt they had more to offer (the World).
I suppose what I’m asking you to consider is how you remove the layers you’ve built up to justify what you do: money, responsibilities, debt repayment and peer pressure. These are all perfectly legitimate reasons for working; but how many of them have enabled you to unlock the real you, and be happy?
No time is the right time to disturb the status quo but the problem is by the time you get round to asking a properly serious question – Why am I here? – it may be too late for you to do something about it.
If you find that there is something you’re called to do, particularly something that fills your soul with light and a freshness that’s missing in your work, you have no choice but to pursue it.
Everything else is a derogation from life and living.
Doing one thing… at a time
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