Michael Chrobak's Blog: The Modern Mystic - Posts Tagged "resolution"
This New Year
For most of my adult life, the question 'What is all this for?' has been predominant in my mind. Some days the question carries a positive and hopeful energy, as if to say anything's possible. Other times the question is mired in concern and anxiety, a reminder that life is fleeting, temporary. Through the years I've learned the important thing is not to get caught up during the pendulum swing, to celebrate the difficult days with as much enthusiasm as the best days. Definitely not an easy thing to do, especially given the constant barrage of messages we receive from our external environment. But still, it is possible. The key is in recognizing the purpose of each moment.
Let's face it, most of us go through most of our day without being present to the moment. And though that phrase is becoming less sacrosanct as it finds familiarity within the mainstream, it is a concept that must be approached with some reverence and awe. It is a fundamental truth, something that exists for all people at all times, regardless of our understanding or belief in it.
Think about it this way. We don't engage in conversations about remembering to breath, even though it is a basic and necessary factor in maintaining life. It is what is known as a fundamental truth, meaning it applies to all living creatures at all times, regardless of their ability to understand the process. The same holds true for the process of being present. As much as breathing holds the key to our physical lives, present moment awareness holds the key to our spiritual lives. Stop breathing – you die. Stop being present – you become disconnected, lost, desperate or depressed. In short, your spiritual life dies.
Perhaps this is why the pharmaceutical industry is so heavily invested in mental health products. We know there is something missing from our lives, but we don't know what, or even where to begin looking. And yet, the answer we seek isn't out there somewhere. It isn't in that next promotion, or a better job, or a different relationship. It doesn't come after the kids are grown and moved out, or after we retire and start traveling. The answer is within us. It always has been. We just don't find it, because we are too busy looking everywhere else.
Which brings me to the topic for this post – This New Year. At the time when most of the world is choosing which resolution they will commit to, there is really only one that matters. Only one that can effect every other attempt change our lives for the better. For behind every change we attempt, there is another fundamental truth. That is, we cannot become who we are meant to be if we keep using the same thoughts that got us where we are. To create any change, we must become conscious to our thoughts.
The desire to lose weight is not a desire to lose weight, but a desire to change how we think about food and eating. The desire to get back in shape is not a desire to improve our physical health, but a desire to change how we think about the importance of having a healthy body. Any change we wish to undertake relies fully on our ability to not only change our thinking, but to maintain the new way of thinking long enough for it to become autonomous, like breathing.
Present moment awareness gives us this connection. It provides the link between desire and achievement, not in just some cases, but in every situation where change is involved. The reason people fail in keeping their resolutions is not a lack of will power, but a lack of awareness. That's it. The more aware we are, the easier it is to create and maintain the change we desire. Our actions are not the key, our thoughts are not the key. It is our awareness of our thoughts that is solely responsible for our ability to create the life we have always dreamed possible.
This is why we will never find the answer to the questions in our lives outside of ourselves. No one, no thing, no situation is responsible for controlling and understanding our thoughts. We alone hold that power, although we can, and frequently do, give that power away. How? By blaming others for the situations we are in. By believing our happiness is tied to anything other than our desire to be happy. No one, no thing, and no situation can take that away.
So, for this new year, don't set the standard resolutions you've probably already tried a dozen times in the past. Set one that will actually make a difference. Set a resolution to become more aware. How you do so is up to you. You can read a book, take a class on present moment awareness, or perhaps find a guru or join an ashram. It really doesn't matter. Because, once you make the commitment to become more aware, you'll find that awareness just begins to flow. And the more aware you become, the more you understand the process of life. It's just that simple. Make a declaration, and then let your spiritual nature lead you in the direction it is already calling you towards. Michael Chrobak
Let's face it, most of us go through most of our day without being present to the moment. And though that phrase is becoming less sacrosanct as it finds familiarity within the mainstream, it is a concept that must be approached with some reverence and awe. It is a fundamental truth, something that exists for all people at all times, regardless of our understanding or belief in it.
Think about it this way. We don't engage in conversations about remembering to breath, even though it is a basic and necessary factor in maintaining life. It is what is known as a fundamental truth, meaning it applies to all living creatures at all times, regardless of their ability to understand the process. The same holds true for the process of being present. As much as breathing holds the key to our physical lives, present moment awareness holds the key to our spiritual lives. Stop breathing – you die. Stop being present – you become disconnected, lost, desperate or depressed. In short, your spiritual life dies.
Perhaps this is why the pharmaceutical industry is so heavily invested in mental health products. We know there is something missing from our lives, but we don't know what, or even where to begin looking. And yet, the answer we seek isn't out there somewhere. It isn't in that next promotion, or a better job, or a different relationship. It doesn't come after the kids are grown and moved out, or after we retire and start traveling. The answer is within us. It always has been. We just don't find it, because we are too busy looking everywhere else.
Which brings me to the topic for this post – This New Year. At the time when most of the world is choosing which resolution they will commit to, there is really only one that matters. Only one that can effect every other attempt change our lives for the better. For behind every change we attempt, there is another fundamental truth. That is, we cannot become who we are meant to be if we keep using the same thoughts that got us where we are. To create any change, we must become conscious to our thoughts.
The desire to lose weight is not a desire to lose weight, but a desire to change how we think about food and eating. The desire to get back in shape is not a desire to improve our physical health, but a desire to change how we think about the importance of having a healthy body. Any change we wish to undertake relies fully on our ability to not only change our thinking, but to maintain the new way of thinking long enough for it to become autonomous, like breathing.
Present moment awareness gives us this connection. It provides the link between desire and achievement, not in just some cases, but in every situation where change is involved. The reason people fail in keeping their resolutions is not a lack of will power, but a lack of awareness. That's it. The more aware we are, the easier it is to create and maintain the change we desire. Our actions are not the key, our thoughts are not the key. It is our awareness of our thoughts that is solely responsible for our ability to create the life we have always dreamed possible.
This is why we will never find the answer to the questions in our lives outside of ourselves. No one, no thing, no situation is responsible for controlling and understanding our thoughts. We alone hold that power, although we can, and frequently do, give that power away. How? By blaming others for the situations we are in. By believing our happiness is tied to anything other than our desire to be happy. No one, no thing, and no situation can take that away.
So, for this new year, don't set the standard resolutions you've probably already tried a dozen times in the past. Set one that will actually make a difference. Set a resolution to become more aware. How you do so is up to you. You can read a book, take a class on present moment awareness, or perhaps find a guru or join an ashram. It really doesn't matter. Because, once you make the commitment to become more aware, you'll find that awareness just begins to flow. And the more aware you become, the more you understand the process of life. It's just that simple. Make a declaration, and then let your spiritual nature lead you in the direction it is already calling you towards. Michael Chrobak
The Modern Mystic
Random musings about life and my creative journey.
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