This month we’re talking about Chapter 3 of End the Struggle and Dance With Life, “Climbing off the Ladder to Distress.” When we’re focused on a goal or achievement, we’re missing out on so many things that life has to offer. We’re missing out on making our life HUGE. Here’s an excerpt where Susan describes what a well-rounded life could be.
What does a HUGE life look like? It is a life that is filled with many equally important components. These include career, family, friends, hobbies, personal growth, contribution to the community, relationships, alone time and whatever else rounds out a full life for you. Many of us have these components in our lives, but we often neglect them as we work to attain goals we have set up for ourselves. Hence, the key words in my definition of a huge life are “equally important.”
When we are focused only on attaining future goals, we, by definition, live with a poverty mentality. When we live in the now, giving equal importance to ALL areas of our life, then life becomes HUGE and we feel the abundance!
Giving equal importance, of course, implies that we are committing 100% to all aspects of our life by giving them the attention and care they deserve; that is, we are equalizing our priorities knowing that IT’S ALL IMPORTANT! When we do this, we begin to enter the realm of the Higher Self and a wonderful transformation begins to happen…
We become bigger than we thought we were as we learn that we are more than our goals, our outcomes, our honors, and so on. We aren’t wiped out if something doesn’t turn out the way we wanted it to turn out. We begin to acknowledge the incredible richness of our life. We realize there is so much for which to be grateful. Most importantly, we realize that our goals are simply part of playing with life, but they are not our life.
Living then becomes a moment-by-moment noticing of the enormity of our circle of being. Because we have “equalized our priorities,” we are feeling fulfilled whether we are…
Spending an hour talking to a child or making a grand decision as the head of a large corporation or filling our garden with beautiful flowers or writing a book or washing the dishes or volunteering to help raise money for a cause or helping a friend get through a difficult time or reading a book or sitting and watching the sunset or building a roaring fire or preparing a delicious meal or WHATEVER!
In this context, so-called ordinary everyday experiences become exquisite moments. They are the substance of life. In contrast, goals are not about substance…they are about shadow. They are possible happenings in the future and have nothing to do with NOW. If we fill our lives only with distant goals, our lives, by definition, feel empty NOW. Again, goals are important and fun to play with, but…
GOALS ARE NOT OUR LIFE! “NOW” IS OUR LIFE!