Do You Lose Self Realization?
The most amazing thing about us when we grow, we do so taking steps in both forward and backward directions, looking a little like yo-yo’s rather than inquirers and seekers.
Winston Churchill wrote: “Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on as though nothing has happened.”
In our search for happiness, success and significance, is our insatiable love for discovering new things. New ideas…new people…new places…they intrigue and fascinate us.
Another love we have is finding and understanding new ways to solve problems. If we have been suffering the painful inconveniences of long-term problems, we have this need to find out what’s causing the discomfort and unhappiness and fix it.
But, in many ways, we are paradoxically opposed to change and have a strong urge to keep things from changing.
Amazingly enough, we do really love variety and change: but, by the same token we feel safe around predictability. Normally when things start to shift and move in our world, we become uncomfortable, uncertain, anxious and unsure of what to do next.
With our hearts we set out in search of change and adventure, but our minds continue on the journey with doubt as its anchor. Here we see the perfect picture of double mindedness, the heart saying one thing and the mind saying another.
Often, as Churchill points out, we unquestioningly follow that urge to maintain status quo. Why? Well, it’s the same reason we continue to do anything automatically — habit.
So, how do we break the grip that habit has upon our lives? How do we escape the inertia of the downward spiral?
Well, I suppose the same way we change any habit.
The first step is to be conscientiously aware of what we’re doing. Habits cannot operate when we are continuously drawing back the curtains of inattention.
Have you had awareness about yourself or the way you live your life? You don’t want it to drift away and become lost to you, like so many other realizations have before.
Then make a big thing of it. Keep your attention fixed upon it, roll it around in your mind, explore the ideas, the implications the final results.
Never allow a habit to rob you of the golden nuggets you find each time you are aware of who and what a significant other you are.
And this is exactly the way you will prevent yourself from stumbling over a truth and continuing on as though it never happened.
