Friday January 15, 2010

Good Morning!

Stop worrying, we all worry so much , we worry about this or that. What a waste of energy.

I used to worry about meeting my goals. You may have had the same thought. We make resolutions, we write down goals, we have our life's dreams set out before us. Mine were pretty straight forward and of course they changed as i got older, as I attained certain levels of my preconceived idea of what was important and what wasn't. First, my goal was to get a drivers license, graduate high school and get through my early teenage years. Not very spiritual, but they held importance for me. I didn't want the world to get ahead of me and I certainly didn't want to miss what was happening in the 1960's.

Well as you can imagine, I got through these simple but important goals in quick order, and had to change my perception of successful, my goals had to change, I had to modify my list so to speak. My next set of goals were a bit loftier. I wanted to not only get accepted to college, I had the temerity to think that I could graduate. I wanted to swim in the Olympics and win a gold metal ( i know you are laughing now, but what the heck, if you are going to dream, dream big), I wanted to kick an NFL field goal and of course I wanted to be a millionaire at 30, or 40 or maybe even 50. Life does not always turn out as you may have imagined, and I didn't meet or even come close to meeting those goals, though I did come close to the millionaire thing. My point is I made my goals, I had a plan, I took a measure of where I thought i could go and it didn't quite pan out as I had figured it would.

Life is not a straight line, it does not follow a even path no matter how much you measure and calculate. It has twists and turns and detours, it gets messy out there and if you are like me, I hate messy, I had not knowing, I am not big on surprises. But this is the beauty of your life. It never does, "nobody gets what they want, they do always get what they need", as the old Rolling Stones song goes. Sometimes, maybe most times what you think is important turns out not to be so. Sometimes, what was so compelling, ends up having little or no significance to you. Life turns out that way sometimes.

What this meant for me, the pressure was off, I was not so consumed with what I thought I wanted out of my life, I got a whole different hand at my life's card game. And as you know you have to play the hand you are dealt. No reshuffle at this table. But remember, there is always another hand to play, that is until there is none. Getting back to my point, now where was I , oh yes, now that the pressure was off, now that I finally learned the point of my being here, my Reason De Etre, my reason for being, I was free to live my life as it is, really for the first time I could see the end game, the light at the end of the tunnel. Believe me I know I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I just finally figured out what this was all about for me, maybe you feel the same way. You don't have to know all of the immutable laws of the universe, you only have to know how they pertain to you. And that is the easy part, you may not think so, but the more you get to just relax, sit in your favorite chair ad give yourself a few moments of peace, you will be truly amazed at what pops into your conscience. think about it, I always have a pad of paper to jot down a few thoughts. Then I look at it, swish it around, take it for a ride so to speak and see how it runs. I sit smooth and effortless, then I am on to something, is it a little awkward at first, does it take a little finessing, then I may go in a different direction.

The point is, there is no right or wrong, there is only this works, this feels good, this fits. Then I just go and see where it takes me spiritually and physically. I always have the option to change or adjust my plan. Remember, you own it, you take full responsibility for your actions so you can do whatever you want. Or just cast it aside and start all over. Who cares, no one, only you. It so not important what anyone has to say, if they are not encouraging you to expand your horizons, go for the spiritual gold, than they no longer have a place at your table. I will speak more about friends and acquaintances, but for now keep this thought, this rule if you will, if they do not add to your life's experience, if they do not bring you up, if they don't keep you wanting more after they have left you, then they do not belong in your life. So it is all up to you, no more excuse, you do, you go and you bring all that are good along. The others you leave behind, unfair, I think not!

At the end of your life's journey, you will be asked two very simple, but important questions," Did you have a joyful life", the second and equally important question is, "did you bring joy to others", or put another way, "did you help others in their quest for joy". Unnerving huh!

Have a joyful and loving day,
Robb