“The wisest mind has somthing yet to learn.” — George Santayana
Have you stopped to think about what you’re really doing with your life? More importantly, have you stopped for any period of time the IPod, computer applications, Facebook, Myspace, Tweeter, Youtube, Texting or cell phone usage? Of course, the next interrogatory following might be, are you capable of stopping for any given period of time or are you profoundly hooked? Perhaps, you just don’t care, and that’s perfectly acceptable in this moment. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work in a “neat, controlled, applied” way. In fact, you may be experiencing a crisis unlike any other you have ever known, and the maze of “which way to turn,” is beyond present comprehension on any level. The words of Joseph Campbell wisely state, “When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.” It’s time step-up and be the hero in your own life!
You’ve heard and used an abundance of excuses for months even years, and now it is woefully obvious that you just can run away from yourself . . . remembering that wherever you go . . . there you are. Once again the work must be done by you, and excavating your authentic self is a bigger job than you ever thought. Yes, you can seek counsel from experienced practitioners, and that simply boils down to . . . whom do you really trust with your inner most thoughts, hopes, desires, aspirations, dreams etc., and conversely who can trust you with theirs? Albert Camus spoke quite eloquently when he said, “You cannot create experience, you must undergo it.”
Time will pass no matter what your choice, it does seem to be quickening for all of us. No one is going to “step up to the plate” and do for you what you must do for yourself. It just doesn’t work that way, it never did. I have always reflected upon beginning from within as a good place to start. For all of us this means different things, and Chuck Palahniuk projects this thought, “We all die, the goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” What are you actively in the process of creating that will illuminate your presence here? JLR