The Good Life “..enriching, exciting, rewarding, challenging, meaningful. This process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one’s potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life. Yet the deeply exciting thing about human beings is that when the individual s inwardly free, he chooses as the good life this process of becoming.” –– Carl R. Rogers
Knowledge and Inspiration
“…knowledge comes in flashes of inspiration as he desires it. When he expresses his desire by inner thinking it unfolds within his Consciousness, and he recognizes it. He realizes that he has always known it.” – Lao Russell, God Will Work With You But Not For You
Seeking knowledge – creating with Intent – allowing what develops to unfold.
What makes living with ambiguity so uncomfortable? There was a time I immersed myself in astrology. I thought that if I could read the future I’d be happier with the crap that was happening. Looking back, some of that “crap” were the best times of my life. Life isn’t deterministic. Free will, our daily choices; the quantum uncertainty all unfold life and can only happen in the moment. Yet the moment isn’t cherished. How curious.
There is a paradox. Some planning is necessary if I’m going to be healthy; need to exercise and buy good foods at the grocery. Planning is necessary to reach my goals; vintage love, education, comfy home, right work. It makes sense to create with Intent and seek knowledge. Once that’s done, if I lean into the day I can appreciate what materializes.
Why then do I get caught up in the future? So I’m not an expert immediately! Or the past?! Remember the time I got burnt? What if it happens again? Yeah? So what?! What if it doesn’t!
I will continue to seek knowledge – and revel in the inspiration I find. I will create the Intent of the day – and believe in its truth. I will allow my Intent to unfold – and to rejoice in the wonder it brings.
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“To have faith requires courage, the ability to take a risk, the readiness even to accept pain and disappointment.” – Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving
Words – and Golden Handcuffs
The language of Henry David Thoreau’s Waldon is lyrical and poetic – not my usual reading style; concentration required. His famous line: “the mass of men lead lives of quiet 
desperation” drew me outside my comfort zone. The line resonates. Why? Could be that I know “quiet desperation.” Happily I also know I’m so NOT willing to sit in its grip. What makes so many so desperate? And why won’t they do anything about it? Thoreau says:
“Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.”
My recent self-reflection feels this philosophy. Acknowledging my need for boundaries and taking action; getting conked on the head to “wake-up” from my mechanical negative thoughts both influenced how I see myself – and what I think of myself. Since then, a few “public opinions” didn’t faze me as I showed up with Intent and self-awareness. How flippin’ cool is that?!!
“All change is a miracle to contemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant. Confucius said, “To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.”
We don’t know what we don’t know. True knowledge accepts this; I am more willing to open my mind and my heart when I acknowledge this. After our basic needs are met – Thoreau asks:
“When a man is warmed . . . what does he want next? Surely not more warmth of the same kind, as more and richer food, larger and more splendid houses, finer and more abundant clothing, more numerous, incessant, and hotter fires, and the like. When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to adventure on life now, his vacation from humbler toil having commenced.”
Some people will rise up and “adventure on life” – the rest will live with desperation. What makes them cling to something incredibly uncomfortable?
WORDS – “the mass of men who are discontented, and idly complaining of the hardness of their lot or of the times, when they might improve them. There are some who complain most energetically and inconsolably of any, because they are, as they say, doing their duty.
GOLDEN HANDCUFFS – “I also have in my mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to use it, or get rid of it, and thus have forged their own golden or silver fetters.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Stop with the negative; wake-up to idle complaints, mechanical and dutiful thinking; take action – this is something I can, and will do. Oh, those “golden or silver fetters” though – not so easy to dump the dross! All that “stuff” is the illusion of security. Without it I would do … what? Be courageous? Fly? Maybe I would fly. 
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“According to your faith be it unto you.” ― Matthew 9:29
The Path: An Examined Life
Plato documented in his Apology that Socrates died for his convictions – he would not run away, he would not be silent. Socrates knew that his jury would find his choice to be steadfast in his convictions hard to believe; and ultimately his belief “that the life which is unexamined is not worth living,“ and “would be disobedience to a divine command” – would bring a death sentence.
Thankfully I don’t face death in a court of law defending what I believe. There are those that do; and many who face censure from their community, family, friends and places of work – just for what they believe.
Mostly I fit it – am I too quiet because I want to fit in? Do I conform because it’s right for me, or because I don’t want to cause turmoil and drama? Do I bite my tongue because I want to be liked, loved, admired and trusted? Do I walk the party line at work because I’m afraid if I don’t they’ll throw me out on my ear and I need the paycheck? Do I even know who I am and what I believe – that I would risk my life for the right to be that? Do I have the courage to find out? 
Confession: I have a DVD recording of a talk I made during a women’s leadership seminar 5-years ago that I (still) have not watched. What the heck am I afraid of? That I sucked? 5-years ago? Yeah – I’m scared shitless to see myself suck. Hahahaha!!! Oh jeez.
I have calendar diaries and journals that I’ve kept since the late 80’s. Once I thought – oh my, I better get rid of these things, someone might read them and realize how f***’d up I am. Then one day I dipped into “1987,” and it was kinda (ridiculously) inane, poorly written, full of drama, fuss and frankly boring. Betting any hapless, poor sap reader would find it good fire-starting material.
But what a treasure trove for me. Let me examine my life! Maybe discover why I quit writing in 2005 – be brave – be tenacious (trudging through the trashy, melodramatic drivel) and look for nuggets that may educate and enlighten me. I agree with Socrates about an examined life. I want to know me – know what I am willing to die for; more importantly what I am willing to live for.
“Fear springs from ignorance.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar
Priorities of Life … Truth or Self-will?
- What do I want from life? What’s important to me?
- How do I get guidance from the Universe? When should I trust my intuition?
- Is my intuition the Universe talking? Or is it simply self-will – and the choices made from this place turn out REALLY BAD? How do I know the difference?
- Do I take the next right step and have faith that “all will be revealed?” Do I have the patience to wait?
So Many Questions!!! Are there any answers?
Oh Jeez – another question!
No one can know why things happen the way they do – in retrospect we may get a glimmer of an idea. But honestly, I see the world from a small speck of infinite space – and I just don’t know. Still, from this speck in space (called me) I will take ownership of my life. I will consider and meditate on what is a priority for me.
I started writing lists about my wants, goals and priorities over 25 years ago. I heard that when I write things down they are more likely to materialize – and I want that edge. Since then, I found this theme all over the place; from workplace S.M.A.R.T goals and development plans, gratitude lists, personal inventories, prayer lists, bucket lists, weight-loss and dietary goals … you name it, someone recommends you write it down. No doubt there’s an “app for that!”
I asked a few close friends to share with me their top goals, as well as how they actually spent their time the past 7-days. The exercise was recommended in the book by Dain Heer, Being You, Changing The World. He suggested we do two things:
- Think “on what you spent most of your time, energy, thoughts and emotions on the last 7 days” – write down these things.
- Then consider: “what five priorities would contribute to generating, creating and instituting the life and living I would truly like to have?” – write down these things.
I am not alone to find my time, day-to-day, spent making a living, doing chores, dealing with the constant barrage of media and junk mail, listening to the voices in my head … focusing on things other than what I say are my priorities.
And these Top Five Priorities – these things I believe will create the life I truly want; they are noble goals and require commitment, effort and discipline (uh, yeah). The Universe probably wants me to go there.
New question – How can I change my world so that my day-to-day actions are my top priorities, and my top priorities are my day-to-day?
I ask this question – and know the Universe will bring the answer. Then comes the hardest question – What can I do to have the patience to wait for it?
“What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24)