So often I hear people speak about what they are going to do when they retire. Our culture has this worker bee mentality that we are to labor and toil at the mundane and boring assembly line called work. This “work” we do for the benefit of us, our family and our society, eventually becomes monotonous. It’s frequently just an outcome of many jobs to be bored or frustrated or even unhappy. Some are able to “do their passion”, however that is also a made up concept. Those that do their passion eventually find monotony in their passion, even to the point that they regret what they are doing because that is what gave them joy and now it is a “job”. It is like moving to your favorite vacation spot and then you don’t have anywhere to vacation … you lost your happy place. I think of famous tennis players that by the time they are professionals, they are burned out mentally and emotionally. I have known VIPs in the corporate world that are international business superstars. They fly around the world to make deals 300 days a year and say to me “show me anyone that has done the same thing for 20-30 years and don’t hate it”. These are near billionaires and they hate their day-to-day.
So those that are looking forward to retirement and all the things they will do and all the money they will have saved to give them peace of mind to relax comfortably for the rest of their lives are living a life of hell until then. Sadly, most never have enough to feel comfortable. Most will not live very long after that retirement day. Many won’t have the idealized health to walk the streets of the European city they dream of. And the biggest thing everyone purposely ignores is they can’t take it with them. You are born with your body and Spirit and you die the same way. However, and this is the exciting part that not many acknowledge, you are taking your spiritual achievements too! YOU ARE TAKING YOUR LESSONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH YOU FOR THE NEXT COVETED OPPORTUNITY TO INCARNATE HERE AND DO IT AGAIN! Yes!
We are here to have Joy. This is everyone’s first purpose. Learning to navigate this life regardless of the circumstances with Joy is a life long journey for me. I am not the best at it. To be fair though, I am not the worst either. I am learning via trial and error and daily practice and with intention. Enjoy the journey. The end result is wonderful, but often short lived in exhilaration. Many who complete a marathon have to find the next one to bring the joy back. I will be happy when _______. Why not be happy now? I am going to get the girl or make a million bucks or accomplish a task that others are dazzled by and then I am going to have joy. Unfortunately, maybe not. Even handsome and beautiful Hollywood actors who have all the money and fame they need are committing suicide. In fact, the super wealthy I know are always seeking the next bump of coke or at least a near facsimile of that. Instant gratification can be afforded, so there is always something else they can try to give them the joy they seek.
To be in Union with our Creator and those people and things around us is the source of True Joy. When we are in Union, we feel held in life’s arms and cuddled and snuggled and loved. When I can feel the joy of Gratitude and able to acknowledge all the comfort and happiness around me, then that is a feeling of Joy. Even a prisoner has food, shelter, clothing, and possibly some family and friends. The prisoner can think … well, I am not living in the country club with servants and lovers and the finest food and clothing. It is a choice they can have, but if they want to, they can acknowledge that they are living and breathing and can cultivate self-love and Unity with their Creator and their environment right where they are. That cannot be taken from them. Even they can find Joy in the dire situation they live in. I do remember this when my emotions sink to a lower vibration. I use my emotions as an indicator of my vibration and how I am going against the flow. I can benchmark that feeling and refocus to a better feeling on the emotional scale we know. Joy is the highest vibration, along with Love and Appreciation and Empowerment and Freedom. These are what our Creator is. This is what being a Christ or a Buddha is.
We do not need to wait for retirement to have Joy. In fact, if we do, then it will probably not work out how we desire. We create a pattern of thinking when we think the same ways all the time. There is scientific proof that we create neuropathways in our brain with repetitive thoughts. They are ruts, like being on a ski slope after everyone has skied and no fresh snow has fallen. Do you think you can suddenly change how you perceive the world on retirement day? Are you a brand new human that thinks totally differently now that you get your pension? No! You will still think in terms of not having enough. You will still worry that you cannot do the things you planned. The time is NOW for you to stop your patterns of thinking of lack and scarcity. But, I have to make just a little more money and then I can do what I want and have Joy. Joy will not be there in the morning unless you start cultivating that now. You must change your thinking today and Trust the Universe that you will have everything you need now and then. But if I just can have this, then I will be happy. Things or conditions do not make you happy. Being in Unity and in Love with yourself, your situation and your environment will give you the happiness you seek. We have to Know that the unwanted situations in our lives are giving us the ability to grow and level up. This will help when we encounter rough patches. When we learn and grow and achieve during these spiritual challenges, we build our strength, confidence/belief and Joy. These accomplishments are what we can take with us when our bodies die. Our Spirits do not die of course. We are mostly energy to a very large extent. Our personal energy is hardly even acknowledged here on Earth since we tend to have to see something to know it here. However, if we are open and observant, we can feel. We can feel energy and discount how our culture says we are just being crazy.
My goal is to learn how to enjoy this ride and not just wait on the destination. I used to feel anxious about going on vacation because there were so many uncertainties that I could not control. I felt this to the point that I started thinking why go on vacation? Should I pay for another place to live temporarily when I am paying a mortgage at the same time? The vacation is not the end result you are shooting for. It is the minute by minute experience that we are wanting. It is not to check off that task on the list of things to do. I used to just skip the vacation as if I checked the box on the list. Our Journey we are on in this life is a vacation. Hell, you shouldn’t even have a destination is some ways. Life is one big Journey. It is wonderful to have a destination as a dream. We are dreamers and creators and we are here to be and do the things we desire. If I wanna take that path to the right while on my Journey, then by all means go that way because it looks fun! Who knows, maybe you will get to the top of the mountain and see there is an even a higher peak that looks exhilarating with an exciting path that looks like no one has taken to get there.
Choose Joy now. Do not wait. Do not believe that you should be toiling in a stupid situation so that one day you can be happy. You won’t be happy then either. Do not make up stories of how hard it will be to do something or how bad it will be if you choose a route that pleases yourself. You do not know how things play out and you are creating a self-fulfilling prophesy with that fear you have. It is going to be hard if you put your thoughts and energies and doubt into that belief of how hard it may be if you seek Joy now for your benefit. Trust our Loving and Caring God that we will always land on our feet. Know that being happy now is the only choice. You cannot decide a date that you will be happy. Happiness is only in the Now.
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