Are you waiting for your happiness to arrive?
Have you pinned your well-being to some event or circumstance that has not yet materialized? Or are you looking for that magical missing piece that will finally make everything wonderful?
One possibility is that all of that is just around the corner for you, and in a very short time, you will ‘arrive’!
Another possibility — that perhaps some of us have experienced — is that we achieve our hearts desires, only to find that now there are new ‘missing pieces'. So our happiness becomes elusive. Like the proverbial carrot on a stick — forever just out of our reach.
Life, under these circumstances, becomes an endless striving for a joy that never arrives.
OUR NATURAL STATE OF BEING
What if our entire premise is flawed? What if we don’t actually need anything to be truly happy? What if our joy is alive within us 100% of the time, no matter what the circumstance?
Our ancient and natural state of being is Wholeness. We imagine that we are separate, lacking or flawed, but we’re not actually seeing what is truly here. We are seeing through our own unique, and mostly manufactured, perspective. The way we have learned to see has created much distortion in our perceptions and therefore how we navigate our personal reality. Most of us have learned that we are victims of circumstance. Life happens to us randomly. If ‘the right things’ happen, we are happy, and if misfortune comes our way, we feel that life has turned against us.
Ancient Wisdom tells us that we are an inseparable part of the continuum of Life, on every level. As humans, we share DNA with every living thing on the planet. As an intrinsic part of any ecosystem we inhabit, we move with the rhythms of the wind, earth, sun, moon & planets. The Spirit of Life that animates all Being, moves through our every cell. In reality, we cannot divorce ourselves from our undeniable unity with all of Life.
We can imagine ourselves to be separate, and behave as if we are, but this doesn’t change the fact that we are part of a much larger whole.
MOVING WITH LIFE
To the Ancients, this was more than an idea. It was a living, breathing relationship. In this worldview, every aspect of ourselves, within and without, is considered to be a member of our ‘Ohana (Family). This goes far beyond science to include personal connection, warmth, caring, listening, cooperation, protection and love.
Imagine if we were to relate to everything that arose inside of us, and all Life outside of us, as a member of our ‘ohana? Instead of being ‘King or ‘Queen’ of the World’, we find ourselves in a community of interwoven Life. Instead of being victims, we become aware of the deep interconnections between our inner and outer worlds. We step into profound communication and communion with life, so that whatever arises is also recognized as a member of our family. We live life in a response of embrace rather than a battle.
When we recognize that the larger part of ourselves is moving with Life, we can enter the world of the Mystery, in service to the Divine. From this place, there are open channels to new possibilities of perception, guiding us in ways we might never have dreamed.
THE IMPOSSIBLE BECOMES POSSIBLE
Letting go of our patterns of control, we can drop into a new relationship with Life. As we do so, we realize that our happiness and well-being is not dependent on any person, situation or circumstance. It is a resonance that exists within us, waiting to be touched, and allowed to blossom. That resonance, the song that you truly are, is instantly heard and matched by our ‘Ohana Nui — the Great Family of Life.
Our outer circumstances may never be ideal, but cultivating this essential resonance, allows for new avenues of awareness, strength, perspective, flexibility, acceptance and sometimes, understanding. We begin to appreciate our ancestors gift for remaining steady as they navigated ancient canoes over stormy seas. If the navigator becomes overwhelmed by the storm, all is lost. Instead, they are called upon to listen, communicate and find the way of most harmony within the turbulence. In difficult times, we have no choice but to work with what feels like upheaval. We can no longer pretend we can control it all. As we allow ourselves to step into Natural Order — recognizing that we are simply an inseparable part of ‘what is’ — we embrace our ‘ohana, and the horizon expands. Strength that we never knew we had emerges, & choices we never knew possible become available.
This becomes the task: Navigating as a part of Life, or apart from Life. When we are having a hard time, we may want to look at which one we are choosing.
We can begin by stepping out of our programmed perceptions, & restoring our familial relationship with everything inside and outside of ourselves. On the wings of these connections, new ways of seeing and being can blossom……and we may find that our Magical Life has been here, (and everywhere we look), all along!
What has been most challenging for you recently? Can you see ways to shift your relationship with the person, circumstance or feeling? What ways can you find to recognize them as members of your family?