We seem to be on a road believing we must always be at the top of something, the top of ‘our game’ as they say, whoever ‘they’ are. But what exactly does that mean? Do we believe that when we’ve achieved all those material things we want, or seem to need, we have arrived? Do we believe that when we have the BMW, or the Mercedes, or the Bentley, or the house by the beach, or the house with acres of surrounding woods, or the house on the top of the hill that we have made it? And after we have achieved all of this then what? What’s next?
Yes, celebrate and let the world know, “We have made it”! It’s good to want to be better, to achieve more, isn’t it? Or is it? So, now that we have amassed enough material things that could be used to support 5, 10, 20,100, or more families, then what? Now that we have everything we want, what do we do with all of it? Do we look at it and smile? Do we actually use all of it? Do we want more because, well what else is there to do, but get more? And when we look around at all of it how does it make us feel? Are we afraid that it will all be gone someday?
There are a couple of TV programs I think are worth mentioning, one is called ‘Undercover Boss’ (UB) and the other ‘The Secret Millionaire’ (TSM). What I like about both of these programs is that while it may seem that UB is looking to understand what their employees are up to (either catching them doing something good or something wrong) and what’s happening within the company, it really becomes about what the Boss learns, not just about the company and the employees, but him/her self. TSM is about a person or a couple who are millionaires pretending to be poor and researching what small local groups are doing to help those in need and then revealing at the end of a week of working with several groups that they are millionaires and give these groups a substantial amount of money to continue with their cause. As with UB, the people of TSM also come away with a lesson or two for themselves.
These programs show that we all have a lot to learn from one another, whether your rich, poor or in between, because we are all the same when you take away all the material stuff. It changes lives! The rich see that you don’t need to be rich to be happy and have a rewarding life. The poor see that the rich aren’t a bunch of heartless people.
While life can be challenging on many levels, we need to understand how to live with one another, giving and sharing with everyone so there is harmony in the world, and harmony in our own lives.
If it seems like I’m chastising the rich, I’m not. I’ve been rich, that is monetarily rich, and now I’m rich with love for others and myself. For some reason we believe that what we want is what we need. There is a difference. You see what we need is food, shelter and love. That’s the basics and that will sustain us for a lifetime. What we want and oftentimes we think is what we need is all the other material things. Now there is nothing wrong with wanting those things and getting those things, but don’t believe that you NEED them and don’t amass all those other things at someone else’s expense.
God or the universe, if you prefer, wants you to have everything that you want. So while wanting more for yourself is not bad, how you get there or achieve what you want is the question. Go ahead and achieve, make more money and have all that you believe will enrich your life, but also give a little or a lot back to those who are less fortunate than you. Give to those that did not come here with the drive that you have to achieve or those that were born into a life, which had heavier burdens to bear than yours. And for those of us who have less material things don’t be jealous or envious of those who do. All of us must stop judging others who we believe don’t measure up to our standards, however high or low they are.
Finally, I want you think about and visualize for a moment this by closing your eyes. Okay you can only close one eye otherwise you can’t read this. I want you to see the earth as if you were looking at it from where you are, and where you are is standing on the moon. Look at the earth. Do you see this beautiful blue and white orb floating in space? Can you see any difference between the landmasses or it’s occupants? Can you see that everything that occupies this orb is all connected by the air, land, and water? There is NO SEPERATION. And whatever happens on that mass affects everyone. There are no divisions between us, except for the ones that we have created. We have created the divisions of race, color, and religion and more. We have divided ourselves by city, state, country, and continent. And we have created these divisions thinking that where we live, how we live, what we do, what we believe in, what we look like and more elevates us in some way and makes us better than the next person.
Don’t ever loose sight of this visual of earth, because “We are one”! We are all the same! If we removed our outer shell, or this ‘meat suit’ as I call it, we would not see any physical differences and we would not have any observable features to separate us physically. We must be here for each other.
I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from Gandhi, with a slight change, “I must be the change I wish to see in the world”.
Blessings and love to all.
