Friday, August 17, 2012

Embracing Life

I remember once thinking during a colleague's retirement speech how nice it must be to have that sense of accomplishment, that feeling of leaving all the ups and downs of life behind with a feeling of security. When I mentioned that sentiment to my wife she said that perhaps I should have my eyes on the journey rather than the end of it. Fact of the matter is that this sentiment was an expression of fear - the fear of life and the unwillingness to get lost in the moment at hand no matter whether the outcome would be pleasant or not. On the day when you retire you may enjoy the perspective of having completed an important chapter of your life, but you will have a new chapter to look forward to, nothing will really change for you on that day.

If there is one spiritual advice I would have to give, it is to embrace life day in day out, no matter what it is that you are doing. There is only one way to get to the next spiritual level and that is to 'feel the fear and do it anyway' as Susan Jeffers put it so succinctly in her book. The reality that you perceive doesn't exist. The monsters that you see along the way will dissolve into air just when as you try to touch them. It is not easy to be a hero, but life will first encourage you and then force to be one. The first dragon will be hard to slay, but all the others will fly away once you arrive on the scene. Embrace life, be bold enough to face its demands and then realize that you live in a magic kingdom in which only joy, love and laughter are permitted.

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