Hello dear friend and reader.
This post is in a sense a recap of many of the things I have been sharing with you so far in this series of blog posts.
In its title you can find the three values that, in my humble view, are the three keys to a happy and realized life.
Evolution, Freedom, Fun
You may have also observed that these are the same three words that prominently feature in my logo. This is, of course, not at all random.
If I am where I am, if I feel what I feel, and if I live how I live, I owe it to my adherence to these three little magic words.
And I happen to know that this is not the case only for me.
You see, if we accept the notion that for you (and, in general, for every human being) a place of fulfilment and happiness is your desired destination, then the way for you to get there is all about you being eager to constantly learn and grow, liberate yourself with every breath you take, as well as immensely enjoy whatever you do and whatever happens to you.
Sounds simple, and, in reality, it is. But that is why it is also NOT simple.
This is yet another of life’s paradoxes. Actually, of human nature’s.
This paradox is the following: the more you perceive an objective of yours to be of the utmost significance, the more complicated you presume its attainment to be.
This presumption, then, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In practice, it usually means that you end up getting yourself in… the way of yourself.
Thus, you become your own biggest impediment.
So, the problem for you is:
How To Go About Pursuing Your Happiness
Without You Being An Obstacle Of Your Pursuit For Happiness
And its solution is, again (should I say “I’m afraid”?), simple:
You must forget who you (think you) are, and instead focus on the very next task at hand; and only on it.
You see, the problem doesn’t really lie in what you do. It rather lies in your thoughts about and around it.
Thoughts which, chances are, you are conditioned to take very seriously and, worse, identify yourself with.
The good news is that whatever happened so far in your life doesn’t matter. You can always start anew and afresh at any given moment.
And, by definition, any given moment is the present moment.
Remember: It Is Always Here And Now O’ Clock
This is such a self-evident fact that we tend to completely forget and disregard it.
Worse, there is this widespread belief that “things can be broken at a moment’s notice, but to fix them takes long”.
Regardless, the naked, and truly liberating, truth is:
We can immediately – right here, right now – get attuned to what is, and, in doing so, receive an incredible boost of energy and confidence to thrive in whatever we choose to do.
Attention: “thrive” in this sense refers to the quality and meaning of our efforts. But not necessarily to their outcome.
Now, of course, in the “outside” world, the world of form, it takes a lot of time to build or to mend things.
However, what truly matters is what happens on the inside. And there, alignment with your true potential can be instantaneous.
It is not, only if you have chosen to believe that “this is a process that will take some time”.
But this is not true.
Freedom – Its Truest, Innermost Kind – Is Always Directly Attainable
And, so, we touch upon the first of our three keywords:
Freedom.
Freedom is the main and indispensable building block of a meaningful life. It is moreover the link between evolution and fun (that is why I have placed it in the middle of my three-word logo).
If you don’t feel free to do what you want to do and to be who you are meant to be, if you feel bound to forces inside and outside of you that you don’t resonate with, then your life becomes a drag and a torture.
And it follows that if you feel unfree, you can neither enjoy life nor progress and grow in it, as it unfolds.
OK. So what is the most straightforward way in (re)claiming your freedom?
It is simple.
It Is You Realizing That You Already Have It
Yes, you do. All the freedom you ever needed.
Once again, I know I’m becoming tiring, but I must stress it:
This is such a simple and clear fact that its simplicity probably makes it look somewhat very radical in your eyes, and, thus, prevents you from immediately and unquestionably accepting it.
You Always Act As Per Your Free Will
You will realize the truth of this statement, if you examine a rather extreme scenario.
Imagine that someone holds you at gunpoint and orders you to hand them all your possessions or else they will pull the trigger.
Can you see that even then, under these extraneous circumstances, you do have a choice?
You may deny to comply with the gunperson’s request.
What’s that? You say that there will be dire consequences for you, if you do so?
Well, won’t there also be dire consequences if you submit?
Aren’t There Always Consequences To Whatever Action You Take In Your Life?
“Yes”, you may reply, “but the risk is higher for me if I choose to defy the gun-holding assailant. I may lose my life”.
OK, but, sorry to say, that is not the point here, is it?
The point is that you are always free to act as you deem fit, and that you cannot but act freely, in every single action you take.
If you accept this premise, then you must also, automatically, accept that it is not freedom that you lack in your life.
What you rather lack is alignment and harmony between your free actions and your true intentions, yearnings, tendencies.
More often than not, this is because you are not clear on the latter.
In other words:
You Are Not Clear At All About What You Really Want
And you know what? There is nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.
In fact, you don’t even need to clearly define what you want as of the very beginning.
You can always start from wherever you are – right here, right now – and move ahead, only by following your intuition.
And take it one step at a time.
In fact, it is enough if you only know what the very next step you want to take is.
As long as you don’t have a single shadow of doubt about it.
However, you need to be careful here and verify that you are not carried away by your mind’s incessant chatter in doing something harmful, to you or anybody else.
But once you have cleared that, knowing only what your next step is and taking it, in full awareness and applying your level best while doing so, is even better than having a fully-fledged plan or roadmap.
Don’t get me wrong: there is nothing bad about having a plan.
What is more, there is nothing bad about having a clear, final destination for the journey you have embarked on.
But, Again, There Is No Other Prerequisite
For You To Act Freely And In Accordance With Your True Nature
Other Than You Knowing, Feeling And Accepting, In Full Conscience
That You Are Always, Absolutely Free
That is a truly liberating (pun intended) realization.
Acting, then, freely also means that you enjoy whatever you freely choose to do.
In fact, part of the enjoyment you get from your actions relates to you having freely chosen them in the first place.
Fun, then, is the second keyword when pursuing your self-fulfillment and happiness.
Again, you must admit that it is pretty self-evident:
For A Journey You Undertake To Be Meaningful
You Must Enjoy Every Minute Of It
If the joy lies only in the destination, what’s the point of embarking on a whole, unpleasant journey just to get there, right?
After all, life is so unpredictable that you might very well never live to see your desired destination. Just imagine how much time and happiness you will have sacrificed in that case…
Yet, unfortunately, there is this widespread notion that in order to accomplish something of meaning and importance in your life, you first have to suffer. And, preferably, a lot.
However, there is nothing more misleading and sad than this belief…
In order to understand it, you need to be a good and ruthlessly objective observer. Both of your past and future life experiences.
If you live up to your duty as such an observer, you will soon acknowledge that your suffering can never directly stem from what you do or what you don’t do.
You Rather Suffer
When You Entertain Negative Thoughts
About Your Actions Or Inactions
In other words:
No entertainment of, and identification with, your thoughts means no suffering.
The point, then, is: fun can be found in anything you do, as long as you recognize that the latter, in and by itself, is something neutral.
But, Then…
What Prevents You From Always Having Fun?
Nothing, dear friend, is the answer. Nothing prevents you from that.
In fact, having fun, feeling enjoyment, bliss, happiness, no matter what you do or what the occasional circumstances of your life happen to be, is your natural state.
Do you find that hard to believe?
Next time you’re in the company of very young children, observe them.
Do they seem to you as if they are suffering? Do you think they experience anything else than pure fun and bliss in their happy-go-lucky lives?
See, our society didn’t have a chance to indoctrinate them yet and convince them that “in order to be happy, you have to be unhappy”.
Because, even if it is never phrased exactly like that, this is one of the key messages of our society to its members, and the cornerstone-like belief of our educational system, is it not?
If You Want To Be Happy
You Have To Be Unhappy
You “have to make a living” at all costs. Even if (often; usually) that means devoting most of your precious and scarce time in doing something you hate.
You can’t afford to take “too many” (meaning, you can’t afford to take any) “risks” (who defines what is a risk? Society does, of course) in order to pursue something you truly love and makes your heart sing.
You must think before you act. In fact, the more you think and the less you act, the better for everyone.
Yes, including you, of course!
The absurdity of it all is enshrined in the next, “bottom line”, statement:
Unhappiness Is The Way To Your Happiness
Reject this nonsense, friend. But do so playfully, not scornfully.
A contradiction is resolved by transcending it and making it de facto obsolete. Never by engaging with it.
So, let us correct the previous statement, shall we?
Fun And Happiness
Is Your Way To More Fun And Happiness!
Not to mention that this is also the way that leads you into always learning something new and growing to your next best version.
And here we meet our third and final keyword: Evolution.
One could argue that the true purpose of your life is to never stop evolving towards the best version of yourself that you could ever (are yet to) be.
Likewise, the meaning of your existence can be said to be the evolutionary imprint you leave on this world. Through and because of your actions, but – primarily – because of who you are.
After all, the two – you and your world – may be nothing more…
Than the two illusory sides of the One Real Coin.
The Coin(cidence) Of Your True Self And Everything That Exists.
Until next time,
Remain safe, alert and free to have fun and grow; no matter where you are, no matter what you do…!