Building Meaning
All of us are in a time of change. We are either building up our assets, paying off our debts or stripping away our lives to pay for the future one day at a time. Why is our situation the same as it has always been, shouldn’t things be getting better?
During times of drastic change, where most people don’t understand what is happening to them, decisions are often left to other people that we trust. We trust our family, we trust our boss, we trust our religious leaders, we trust our government, and we trust our friends. We don’t usually trust strangers, though when one thinks about it, all of the people listed are strangers. They rarely know who we really are. That person is reserved for ourself. So then, who do you trust?
Before a long list of family, friends and other people show up on your list, YOU should at the top listed as ‘me’ ‘myself’ ‘your name here’. So let’s start with the person at the head of the list. Trusting is part of believing. In order to trust ‘me’, you need to believe in ‘me’. Do you? Take your time and feel it out. This is not a mental exercise, it is an exercise in being. You need to trust your feelings about you. We hope that most of our feelings about ourselves are positive and nurturing. There will be negative feelings, no doubt, as we are privileged to know every little thing we have done in our lives and we judge those actions and thoughts more harshly than anyone else. So in spite of all the things you know about you, do you still believe in yourself? The answer should always be ‘yes, I believe in myself’. If you answered ‘no’ because you judge your past decisions too harshly and feel that you must rely on others to account for your actions, then you are not aware of who you are or your feelings. Take the time to know you, and when you reflect on your actions, you create the opportunity to amend, repair and act anew to create a future greater than you can presently imagine. If you can begin to trust and believe, then you can act freely and responsively to your desires and needs.
So the questions that follow are many. Who am I? What do I want? I am happy, why not? Am I in control of my life and future? Can people rely upon me? Do I want wealth, happiness, love, joy, excitement, health, vitality, peace, and abundance in my life? What is really going on in the world? Do the people I trust lie to me to protect me? Do the institutions I trust tell me the truth? How can I know truth? Do I fool myself in to believing things that I know aren’t true? Why is it that my friends know the same things I do, shouldn’t we have different experiences and thoughts about life? Why is entertainment such a big part of everyone’s lives? Why do most people learn nothing from and despise their public education? Why has language and dialog degraded to a 5th grade level in the last 50 years? and so on…
No one can tell you who you are, only how they perceive you to be based upon your actions and the beliefs that you try to convey to them. I’m not going to tell you. I can only say that you are exactly who you believe yourself to be. Belief is not some fading dream or wish. It is what stays with you in your ‘soul’ ‘heart’ ‘spirit’ ‘mind’ all of the time. You act on it everyday and are that belief, you feel it to be true. You are joyous, happy and contented to be who you are. If you believe yourself to be less than you are capable of, then everyday you are that person. Clear you mind and choose to be who you are.
So now on to the subject at hand, ‘Building Meaning’. Belief and trust are the foundations for building anything in our lives. If you want to build a family, career, a home, an empire, a successful business, a relationship and a legacy for generations to come, then you need a strong base from which to reach the heights of personal meaning. All determination of success and meaning are only in your head. You are the only judge, just like it is for the whole of your personal belief structure. If you’re determination of meaning and success is to have other people agree with you that you have achieved meaning and success, then that is exactly what the criteria will be. Nothing more, nothing less.
The accumulation of abundance, including materials, valuable items, leveraged power, and physical assets, brings with it a measure of freedom and more responsibility than if you did not temporarily possess them. With all of it, you do what you will. Providing for yourself, providing for family, friends, and employees. You may accumulate it all and then sell it for paper, your place in the sun, or your retreat from the world. In the end and along the way at your various stages, you are providing meaning to your life. Your goals, dreams and wants are all fulfilled. This live offers many joys and if these are yours, then embrace them and do not apologize for having had them.
If your journey is to discover peace and to quell the imbalance in your desires for this life, then achieve that and meaning for yourself. Use stillness, motions, breath, actions, and thoughts to live each day.
We need to choose how our world is changing. We have to act in our own best interests. We have to chase our own dreams and wants. We have to provide our own means when necessary. We need to care for our health and vitality. The world does not span the dimensions of your home, or even your country. The world was not created in the last 50-100 years by our institutions and corporations. The world is created every day by you, each and every one of you. Each of you building meaning for your life and those you influence, care for and believe in. You do not have to give away your belief in you because of doubt. It is your doubt that makes you question and seek out the answer, your personal truth and meaning. If you have no doubt in yourself, there are plenty of other people out there who will try to plant doubt in your mind, so that you will trust and believe in them rather than yourself.
Building takes time, each day another piece, and more leaps of faith (personal belief) that whatever you are doing will work out, that you will be lucky, and success is coming to you ‘head-on’. You need to believe, by having a vision, and more important a burning desire to achieve your desires. You need to be ready to act and trust yourself that you will be ready for whatever comes.
So the question of “Who do you believe in?” still stands. So who is it?
