Monsters of Your Own Making

Why do you go to work to make a living? It is to support yourself and your loved ones, isn't it?So you may feel like you don't have a choice in this and you may wish you were somewhere else instead. In fact, many spiritual travelers at the beginning of their journey feel like they are wasting their lives in some mundane activities. Well, this might well be true. Yet, will things really be that different when you have your dream job, your dream partner, or whatever else it is you aspire to manifest? Perhaps some of the little personal dramas, the ups and downs of life and the fears will follow you even as you upgrade yourself a more meaningful life. The passions and tragedies of life follow you because they are part of you; they are monsters of your own making, waiting to be slain and put to rest once and for all.

Never wish yourself away from what is here and now. The here and now is present for a reason. In fact, the word "present" says it all, The here and now is a present especially designed for you. To get this present you have to be 100 percent committed to the here and now; when you are, the mundane things suddenly become exiting, annoying people suddenly hold a personal message for you in store and creativity abounds. 

Just imagine you got what you dream of today, the bank account that finally gives you security, the house that reflects who you think you are, the dream partner who totally gets you, or the dream job that allows you to help others or that gives you the creative expression you are longing for. What would you do then if you suddenly discovered that you still feel restless inside? That would be an ugly awakening, wouldn't it? Where would you turn then? The here and now is designed to let go of the stuff that lies beneath and that has to be brought to the surface; the fears, the resentments, the naïveté. Just like in Frank Sinatra's New York song, if you can make it here - in the here and now - you can make it everywhere!

As I wrote this note my son reminded me that Odysseus needed twenty years to return home from the Trojan War. He spent ten years fighting and ten years on his journey home. I had to smile because I have now spent 20 years in what some would call a dream job. Twenty years, that is almost three biological lifetimes given that every single cell in our body gets replaced every seven years. I could relate to Odysseus' story since on many occasions I felt alienated at my job and wished to be somewhere else instead, no matter how prestigious and fun others perceived it to be.  Know that you don't have to wait 20 years to go Home. You can slay the monsters of your own making in three months instead, or in three weeks. Face the here and now and be Home. This is the secret of the Way.