The Journey
Aug 20, 2020
It is about the journey, not the destination. We have all heard this a million times. So much so that we think we understand it, but we clearly don't. This is what happens when something gets heard and repeated over and over again, like a mantra. The mind believes it understands the concept, but the only way to really know something is to live it.
"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."
It is the same with God. The word God has been used so much in our collective consciousness that it has lost its meaning. If you say, "Oh, God helped me create that," most people would roll their eyes and label you a Jesus freak.
But in reality, if we substitute God for All That Is or Reality, then it would be obvious what we were attempting to say. That "you" as the Ego or the character you play didn't really do much- the Source Of All things did it. That would make more sense because all of us are that, everything comes from that, and anyone that believes we are separate from that is lying to you. So of course, "God" helped you create that thing because God is everything; you and the thing. There is no separation. We think we know this, yet believing in the illusion that we are separate from everything else is the cause of all violence on the Earth.
We must be careful with the things we "think" we know because there is a tendency to "know" but not act. Meaning that it is the mind's way of believing it understands but without actually weaving it into the fabric of our being. If we are not moving from that place, we really don't know. We have not incorporated it into our lives and evolved with this new understanding as a way to live.
Don't fool yourself and let your mind take away the lesson. You know something only when you live it every day when it's as essential and effortless as breathing.
So do you know that life is about the journey and not the destination, or are you still attached to the end result?
"Knowledge is knowing the right thing. Wisdom is doing it" – Neeraj Shah
The Act vs. The Outcome
How often do you do something just because you love doing the act and not for the outcome? Well, you might say, "These two things are tied together; the act creates a result." This is absolutely true, which is not under debate. What I am asking is your motivation in the act of doing. Are you attached to the result and are doing the act to get the result, or are you creating because it excites you to create?
I love to write and would do it even if no one read it, even if it never made me a dime. I love the act of channeling what's inside of me to come out into the world. It is like alchemy for me because I'm turning nonphysical into physical words.
Often it doesn't feel like I'm the one writing, more like the writing is coming through me. It is the same when I speak to crowds or educate people. I say things that I didn't "know" were inside of me. Things that I have never said or even contemplated before, and it feels like someone or something else takes over. Often when we speak from the heart, we access an infinite intelligence.
Scientists are finally beginning to understand how the brain operates in the flow state. However, instinctually we know as humans that this must be a part of our lives. As children, play is as much a part of life as food or sleep. Dogs bark, the ocean waves, and children play. Play is the ultimate representation of loving the action and not being attached to the outcome. Because the only outcome that play has is fun; it is an expression of the soul. Which is why I love that we still use the word play when it comes to music and theater.
Music is a perfect analogy. Almost everyone has a love of music. Some more than others or like myself, a love affair that comes and goes. How many musicians are alive today? Not "professional" musicians but rather those that play an instrument or sing or just like to tap their fingers on the table.
You can go to almost any bar on the weekend in Anytown USA, and there will be musicians playing. In fact, you can find this everywhere in the world. Average Joes and Janes throw off their 9-5 garb and play for the act of loving what they do.
So many musicians never make a dime, and their music is never heard by the masses, yet they still create it. They do it for the love of creating it. They do it because they can. They make music because it is coming through them, and it calls them to create it. It wants to come through them, and the musician knows that they love the act infinitely more than they love what comes from it.
We need to become like the child at play, and to fall in love with the act and let go of the outcome. When you are in that state of loving bliss creation where you are one with the act and the unseen, it's as if you see your place in the Universe, and all becomes aligned.
"How can we know the dancer from the dance" – William Butler Yeats
The Money
There might be some of you thinking, "Wow, you went on a long philosophical detour to finally come back to money." Or, "Damn, I thought we were going to get away from talking about money on this one." Notice how you react; it is the doorway to revelation.
We must talk about money because most of us believe this is the reason that we do most things. This is the outcome we want for the action. It is natural to think this way because we see it in the world around us, and most of us have done this as well. We do things we are not called to do in order to get money. Most of the time, we call this action a job. Just because we see most doing it does not mean it is right; it means it's familiar.
If money is the driving factor behind the act, it will taint the outcome. Have you ever eaten a dish made with love? How can you tell the difference? We can taste it. We can sense it if we are present with our food. This is because the chef loves cooking; they love expressing themselves in this way. By contrast, there are so many who are in the kitchen for the paycheck. There is a difference between a chef at a 5-star restaurant and a line cook at Denny's.
You might think it is their experience or skill set, but in actuality, it is the love for what they do. Because if you love what you create with no regard for outcome, wouldn't you also gain the skills to create at your highest level? If it is just a job, then when you clock out, you don't think about the action until you clock back in on your next shift. When you are in love with the act, then it creates through you regardless of the clock.
I've heard the argument, "Well that is not true; the lack of money forces me to do that thing I love, it makes me create. I'm grateful that it forces me to do it because I would have never created that thing without the push." Is that so? If this is your reaction, I invite you to ask how it feels to be forced to do anything, especially creating from your soul's purpose.
Of course, the soul's purpose is there when you need it, and you can push on it to make a deadline because it is like an endless well you can come to at any time. This is where achievers believe they need to create from. They need to just sit and force themselves to do it. However, what happens is a tainted relationship with the act of creating, and you start to resent it because you have to do it not because you want to do it. You become the comedian who hates telling jokes or the photographer who resents their camera.
Has it ever dawned on you that you will make so much more money if you love the act rather than if you force it? Just like everything, force is not the way. Love is the only power you need. Loving the act is the journey, and forcing the act is being attached to the destination. You will never burn out on love, you will never tire of it, and it will never stop giving to you more than you could ever imagine.
"Act on your highest excitement to the best of your ability with no insistence on outcome, trusting that your Higher Mind will manifest what you truly need. And then, whatever manifests, know that: that's what serves you in the best possible way" - Bashar
Written With Love. Good Journey My Friend
