I’ve touched on this a few times in the past. Everyone’s lives are vastly different from their siblings and peers even though the environments are pretty much the same. My daughter and I write in our book “Answers Heaven Speaks” about how we are all spirit whether we like it or not. It just is what it is. We all have a “plan” in this life.
Every “spirit” and thus every person has a pre-designed plan in order to learn lessons on this earth. The problem with that is we all have amnesia. We don’t know that we’re spirit much less that we have a plan. Faithful followers of God lead their lives in the blind faith that God is taking care of them but when troubles occur they begin to doubt God and pull away.
Chapter 12 of our book is a transcription from Yeshua teaching us how to stay connected to God and how to protect us from the “darkness” that envelops us and allows us to face the “troubles.” Darkness can be disguised in the possessions we seek, the need for growing bank accounts and the envy that comes from seeing others doing better than ourselves.
For those of you who occasionally read the bible, go back to the Tenth Commandment. It is very simple. Paraphrasing, it says to be content with what you have and to not be envious of what another person has. There is a great lesson in there. By accepting the blessings you have you will have the ability to praise others who have things “greater” than you and also to be sympathetic and caring to those who have less than you.
We live our lives in stages. We can’t wait to get out of high school and into the work force or college so that we can earn money to buy that really cool car. Along comes true love and the next thing you know you have a child, a family. Then you have to make money to have a decent home environment and then comes with it added bills and “things.”
Sometimes the burdens of chasing success become intense to say the least; to stay afloat but somehow manage to survive, stress and all. After the kids are pretty much grown we are able to focus on planning the day we’ll chuck the job and go live our lives on the French Riviera or next to the soothing aquamarine waters of the Caribbean. For most, that is only a dream.
There are only two ways to accomplish that dream. The first is to, in most cases, throw the family life aside, to a certain extent, in order to excel and prosper through work and earn riches you think you need. Unfortunately, for most, that just doesn’t happen. Because of circumstances out of their control, most of today’s baby boomers are afraid they will have to work until they drop. The second is to find a way to just simplify your life.
I had lunch with a lady the other day who realized that pride was keeping her from being happy. She realized that in order to be “successful” in the eyes of everyone around her she needed to work, work and work even more to maintain what I’ve called in the past “golden handcuffs.”
She finally came to the realization that she wasn’t trying to please herself as much as she was trying to “keep up airs” and impress others instead. When she realized that those who had more than her couldn’t care less and those who had less looked at her more with disdain and viewed her as “being lucky” she just stopped and asked, “What the heck is life all about anyway?”
Given her newfound realization as a now aging baby boomer, impressing others just didn’t cut it. She took the Tenth Commandment to heart and realized that if she sold or gave away some of her leveraged assets and downsized into a perfect “woman cave” that she would have freedom from having to work the rest of her life, live on a very modest income like social security, leave her accumulated nest egg in place without risking it and then buy that airplane ticket to the East Coast for a trek through the original Colonies. Something she had always wanted to do but just never found the time.
She said it was tough letting go of possessions she thought she had to have but once she shed those “things” she said it was as if this huge cloud was lifted from her shoulders. She said that making the decision to do that was the toughest because it meant changing her life. But, now that it’s done, she’s never felt more content in her life.
God wants us to be happy, but stress and worry cast darkness into our auras and diffuse the light of God and the Holy Spirit within. It’s time to let the light shine; time for simplifying life that can bring light and peace into our lives.
