We have been trading in our masters for centuries. We break free of one, then another one comes in to take its place. Nature abhors a vacuum, they say.
A king, a religious leader, a president, a school, a company. All of them want you to behave in a certain way that benefits their overall goal. They don’t really care what you, yourself, want out of your life. That isn’t meant to sound cynical. They don’t have the resources to really understand everyone they impact. They likely don’t know you personally. I’m sure if they did, they would be enchanted. However, I think it’s in our best interest to realize that the people trying to tell us how to live our lives don’t actually know what we value.
Only you can know that for yourself. At this point, it may take a lot of undoing to arrive at the honest, unconditioned place where you can discover what is actually true for you. It might be painful, it might not seem worthwhile, or too difficult. However, I am learning that once you arrive there, it is possible to overthrow all the other forces trying to dominate you and become the master of your life. No one else can do it for you. That is the most difficult part. Once you ask someone else to take over, to guide your path, you’re back to being led away from yourself.
You can, however, ask for directions to your personal place of honesty. Your teachers can come in many forms, from unexpected places. You will know them when you find them. Somewhere, you will feel that they are telling you the truth.
This is not to say that I am encouraging complete anarchy, or selfishness, or that your wants should supersede the greater good. I believe that when you’re really being honest with yourself, what you will want out of life will be good. It will help others in some fashion, it will be generous, it will be beautiful in its own way. It just might not look like the things that you have been taught to want.
I know I have had many, many teachers along the way. I will be forever grateful that I came across them at the times when I did. I do believe that everything happens as it should. Otherwise, it would have happened another way, wouldn’t it?
I am still in the process of uncovering. I have been on this path for many years now, and I still have questions. It may be a much quicker process for others. I do think that, if you’re reading this, there is a reason for it. The reason may be for you to disagree, to grimace, close the browser in disgust. However, even that will lead you to the next step on your path. From there, anything is possible.
design + surrender 