Reaching the Top … ( 07 / 17 / 2012 )
Reaching the Top … ( 07 / 17 / 2012 )
“ Ever since Happiness heard your name , it has been running through the streets trying to find you .” ~ Hafiz
We ’ ve been told that Salvation comes after we die … We ’ ve been told that Enlightenment requires disciplined time & effort … We ’ ve been told that Awakening is a slow and steady process .
We ’ ve been told that finding “ true Happiness ” is a long staircase that we must climb one step at a time ; only someday reaching “ the top ”; only someday coming to know a real and lasting Contentment .
We meditate and we go to church and we donate to charities and we spend “ quality time ” with our friends and we do yoga — and we end up only marginally happier than we were before we started . All the “ self help ” gurus and New Age pundits tell us that this is “ just the way it is ” — that we can attain “ the next step ” if we but stay the course and persevere ; that we can one day “ become enlightened ” if we do after buying their next book or attending their latest seminar …
And we heed their advice and believe that we are making progress . And yet when we do so we aren ’ t really climbing life ’ s staircase at all — all we are really doing is marking time on a step upon which we had already long-since arrived .
Well , as depressing as this all sounds , I ’ ve got some very Good News for you ; namely this : Everything you ’ ve been told by these “ spiritual leaders ” about progress and Grace and faith and persistence simply isn ’ t the whole Truth …
In essence , my Friends – … YOUR LIFE DOESN ’ T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY !
Yes , life is a staircase of sorts — It is indeed true that we will grow and “ progress ” and learn over time . And it is also true that every single step on that staircase is perfectly Beauty-full ; that every single step on that staircase has its own portal to Heaven ; that Salvation & its ensuing sense of “ Enlightenment ” are here for every one of us — right here & right now — right where you already are in this very moment ; right on the step upon which you already stand .
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