Today I am wandering through the catacombs of my brain, aided in part by my fickle lover, caffeine, who always stimulates fascinating, albeit rapid, conversation between the Gemini twins within me.
At present, two thoughts are jockeying for position. Really two sides of the same coin. The first: Why, how and when did our society make money THE MOST important thing? And the second: How can I make more of it so I can do what I believe I am meant to do ______________ (fill in the blank; at this time, with my life, during this incarnation, today).
Money’s cool, of course, it allows us so many opportunities, but in almost every case it is a little evil. Maybe not evil so much as intertwined with the most dangerous parts of the ego. If you don’t have any, you want it because you believe it will make things better. If you have some, but not quite enough, you feel you’re missing out on something that only money can buy or provide. And if you have a lot, you have a lot to lose and may live in fear of never quite having enough. At some point. In the future.
Do we ever feel this way about anything else? Maybe, but I don’t think so, not to this degree. This is a paradigm pretty endemic to the United States. I can’t speak for too many other countries, not having lived anywhere but here, but there are a few islands I’ve been to that are related by ownership or proximity to the US, that have been infected.
Then there’s India. I am not an expert on India. Having spent three weeks wandering a small corner in no way qualifies me to understand the psyche of the people as a whole. But I can tell you that I saw a lot of people with nothing that seemed happy, even content. I saw quite a few people with a lot that had that same spirit. There were, of course, business people who seemed a bit more skeptical and serious about finances, but it wasn’t the pervasive feeling. Overall the people of India seem very spiritually rich, very grounded.
So, back to my first query: How did we get here? I don’t know. Is it too late to turn the ship around? Or are we already scraping the iceberg? My guess is it starts with each individual. It’s a choice that has to be made everyday, maybe every minute, to make love, creativity, spirituality, humanity more important than money.
This circles back to my second question, How can I make more of it so I can do what I feel called to do? Or do I do that thing I feel compelled to do and know that I will be taken care of? Is it ultimately trust in myself, the process, the universe, a higher power? Yes. I think.
Perhaps my real question is this: How can I do what I want to do, feel called to do – be creative, take photos, make jewelry, do art, meet people, listen to their stories, love, travel the world, write – and get paid just enough to do it so that I can keep doing it? Just enough.
Maybe the question is bigger: How can WE do what makes us our biggest selves?
I’ll let you know the answer when I find it. If you’ve figured it out I’d love to hear your story. Seriously, tell me about how you are living your passion, how you are fulfilled and can’t wait to get up every morning to do that thing you love to do. I want to hear and I want to share it with others as inspiration to live a life of authenticity.
Allison's Wanderland 