
Often the more successful we are in collecting possessions, developing exciting relationships, acquiring knowledge, and polishing skills, the less loving, peaceful and contented we find ourselves.
How do we find serenity in a chaotic lifestyle?
A very wise philosopher from 1329 stated, "the soul does not grow by addition but rather by subtraction. In transformation we learn that we must cut out baggage, the simple will last. The way, the true way, needs nothing else."
One problem today is not the lack of knowledge, rather having too much.
The soul remains restless, and it speaks to us with anxiety and inner conflict until it is fulfilled. Our attitude toward life is shaped only when we are willing to decide what we wish to live and risk for.
Not to risk is the greatest hazard to our own growth. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing. That person avoids suffering and sorrow but will not learn, feel, change, grow, love, or blossom. Persons afraid of change become slaves and forget their own freedom.
Only a person who risks is free, and only a free person can open the door to their true selves.
To expose feelings is to risk ourselves.
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To cry is to risk being judged as weak.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement and hurt.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To place our ideas and dreams before others is to risk loss, discouragement, and despair, but not to dream is to sentence ourselves to chronic hopelessness.
Our freedom is not measured by the choices we have made or the risks we have taken. Freedom is measured by the intensity of the moment without our inner selves. Somehow knowing there is no going back, we break through to a higher level, transcending the bonds of our being.
Transformed into a fresh state of being, we experience a heightened awareness.
For those who have taken the journey, it seems that it only happens one day at a time.