The first thing we’re told upon arrival to this mysterious place, after a few years of training on how to operate our body (sleep training, potty training, behavior modeling, communication with language, eating with a spoon, etc) is that, “no one is perfect.”
Ever wonder why people say that? Live by it. It’s a religious belief. But it’s pretty entrained in everyone. Even non- religious people hold it as truth. Humans by nature are imperfect.
We may not realize it but that’s our first hint about why we are here.
Next we’re generally given role models – now usually these role models are so far out of our attainment it’s almost like we’ve been set up for failure. Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi. Maybe your family held MLK jr as an example of an exemplary person or Helen Keller or Abraham Lincoln. Anyway, whatever it was for you – I’m guessing it was a very high bar.
So here’s where we are:
Welcome! Your imperfect and here is a an unattainably high bar for you to try to follow as an example in your quest to grow into a full human being.
Let me add some burden to your journey- “you’re not good enough”, “you’ll never accomplish anything”, “you’re not as smart as your sister”, “you’re too fat”, etc, etc.
Got all that? Oh yeah – one more. Fear of death. “You’re lucky because children in other parts of the world are starving.” Or, “be careful – you’ll get hurt.” Or great depression stories, holocaust stories, war stories. Whatever it is in your family. My sister had polio during the polio outbreak of the 1950s. We spent a lot of time visiting her in hospitals and got a good dose of fear of death.
So here you are in your late teens, imperfect, high bar, fear of death. Ready, set… wait! One more. We forgot to heap a little scarcity into that load. Let me add, the story about how there isn’t enough for everyone. How we need to bear arms to protect ourselves from lazy thieves who want to steal our wealth. How the 1% have all the money. How the insurance companies are profiting off our poor health. And in some families there are stories about how our tax dollars are being squandered on social programs, that the poor people are lazy and costing us a fortune or maybe the poor neighborhoods are sucking our tax dollars out of the schools. Fortunately I didn’t get that one. We were grateful for reduced school lunches and the social security money we lived on after my father died. But many do hear the old adage about the poor taking from the middle class.
Ok now we’ve got everything – Imperfection, limiting beliefs, fear and scarcity. High bar. Go!
Most fall down in their first few steps. Some get up and carry on. After awhile though many sink into some mediocrity or struggle on a treadmill of work, eat, sleep, repeat. The ones who get a lighter load – maybe their parents told them they were perfect, or they got lots of praise and no limiting beliefs – they still probably got fear or scarcity and likely both. No matter how far we get in the race of life – there comes a point where everyone becomes disappointed, fails or at the very least gets bored or maybe depressed. Life isn’t really easy – for anyone. Even wealthy people commit suicide, suffer tragedy, fail. Sometimes we spend our whole lives working hard, accumulating, building up a stockpile and before we know it – it’s over and then we wonder why didn’t I spend the time differently? None of that seems important now.
So, why are we here? It’s like some sort of strange test. Welcome, here is your assigned name, some burdens and oh – yeah – we’re not going to tell you why you’re here. In fact we don’t even know. You’ll have to figure it out on your own. Most people never do, but here are some role models that did. Christ, Buddha, Ghandi, Mohammed. Does that help?
No! Or maybe, it does…
So let’s reverse engineer this. I’m here to reach perfection to achieve the un-achievable. Perfection aka enlightenment. That is what these role models are demonstrating to me. Enlightenment. First though I have to remember who I am. Because only with the awareness that I am not my name, my appearance, my titles, my imperfect personality with limiting beliefs, can I drop that and reclaim the power of my higher self in order to take on the ultimate quest. On this journey I’ll have to battle fear and scarcity – because they are always with me now.
But in every quest there is always a sword or magic potion or a gift you say. A super power maybe.
Ok, I’ll give you two magic words. One to defeat fear and one to defeat scarcity.
Gratitude defeats fear. (I don’t mean a little gratitude- I mean radical gratitude. Like be grateful for your pain radical.)
Forgiveness defeats scarcity. (Radical forgiveness. Like forgive your enemy. Do it. That person you hate at work, your slumlord, the lazy single mom collecting welfare- if it bugs you. Forgive them. Find a way. When you notice lack in your consciousness- use the magic word and forgive.)
And finally, when you overcome those two you’ll receive the gift of clarity. But only if you also stay rooted – Christ and Buddha consciousness tell us to be humble, grounded, connected to the earth. Don’t tell your enemy you forgive them – right?! That isn’t humble. It’s not about acknowledgement.
This is the recipe:
Unconditional love (equal parts gratitude and forgiveness)
Salt of the earth (humble like Christ or Buddha)
And voila – you’ve baked the bread. it will rise and fill your senses and chakras with light.
When it’s done, you’ll have clarity. You’ll realize the answer was within you all along. You’ll remember who you are. You will be happy.
It’s a great recipe – I hope you’ll try it.
You might forget again but you’ll know where to look when you need to find yourself, your truth, your power. You have the recipe, you can make it again and again. That’s why we are here – to transform into a being of light. To rise up from the depths of depression, pain and suffering and become enlightened. Transformed like a loaf of bread from the squish of dough. To enter the kingdom of God on earth.
Ask me another question.
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