Thursday, August 15, 2013

To have or to be...

To have something could mean that at some point we don't have it. We could have a dollar, then not have it...a job, a wife, a car, a reputation. We can have any number of things, and we do and we attach a personal value, meaning and sense of self-worth to them. When we do not have any longer something  that we have attached ourselves to, even if unconsciously, we see ourselves differently, others see us differently too. When we lose those things that mean so much on the surface, that define who we are in the eyes of the world and that we have identified ourselves with, we lose our sense of well-being, happiness and tranquility.

To have something could mean that we don't have it at some point. To be something means we always are. And there lies the difference that could keep our sense of peace. Someone could have a great career as a plastic artist and then lose it. But they can't lose being creative. Someone could be married and then be divorced. But they can't lose being lovable. Someone could have a very profitable business and then lose it. But they can't lose being prosperous. Someone could be popular and then lose their fame. But they can't lose being important.

This also applies to the virtues of patience, kindness, generosity, fairness, equanimity and such. We can have them and lose them, or we can be them. We can have patience and then be stuck in traffic and lose it. Or we can be patient. We can have kindness and then be in a confrontation and lose it. Or we can be kind. We can have generosity and then judge those we share with and lose it. Or we can be generous. Regardless of what happens, we are.              

The challenge, then, is to remember who we are. In every circumstance, we are whole, loved, abundantly provided for, creative, patient, kind, protected, prosperous. We were created with these qualities. We can't lose them. They can't be taken away. When we do lose those things that we have attained in life, we keep our sense of worth with us. We see ourselves through the eyes of Spirit and present ourselves to others in this light.

Today is a good day to embody that which we are. Let's recognize ourselves, reconnect with our essence. In a few moments of stillness and silence we see ourselves, we let go of the artificial identities we have formed and know that all the externals could fall away and not change us. Find that moment, today and everyday, in which to reach in for who you really are.



No comments:

Post a Comment