A Call to Awaken from the Endless Chase

Last week I shared that…

• 40% of the World lives in Poverty.

• The Planet is going through unprecedented systemic and biological change with 10x the number of natural disasters annually

• Yet our thirst for unending economic growth remains unquenched

What kind of a world are we creating where the basics of a good life are still not accessible to a large population yet we're destroying the planet as we speak through our system of exponential economic growth?

What are you and I to do amidst these massive negative global trends?

This all may feel disheartening but there is a path forward. Like any moment, this is also a moment for our awakening.

Here’s some thoughts -

We have been programmed by our culture to believe that only through an ever increasing consumption of goods and services - i.e. larger homes, cars, more stuff, more vacations etc - can we ever find true happiness.

We are constantly trying to fill the gaps in our inner happiness with more external stuff and experiences.

And in this pursuit, we are destroying the planet. The very Earth we call home.

At the same time, we must recognize that these externally triggered moments of happiness are momentary.

We get promoted. We are happy for perhaps a day and then the grind begins again!

We reach our annual goals. We celebrate with a happy hour and before then, the goals for the next year are already hanging over our heads.

We go on vacations seeking momentary freedom. Only to come back to our lives of overwhelm and drudgery.

As soon as these moments arrive, they flee and we are on to the next “goal”. In pursuit for our next “fix”.

Let this reality of our current way of being sync in.

So what can we do about this?

We must develop a higher consciousness and recognize that when we experience happiness, we experience it as an emotion within. The external experience is only a momentary trigger.

To free ourselves from this cycle of drudgery and momentary ‘happiness’, we need to cultivate stillness.

A stillness that helps us become aware of our inherent restlessness for more.

See, we must recognize that most of us are restless for more money, more pleasure, more experiences, more possessions, more recognition.

We are craving for everything outside ourselves to fulfill our inner world.

We have tied the emotional experience of life within ourselves to everything outside ourselves. And that’s why we keep on seeking more.

Do you see the circular paradigm here? We are stuck in a loop of our own making!

Can a craving for something outside ourselves really truly fulfill what is inherently a desire for permanent internal happiness?

Underneath all this external craving, as the sages have shared, what our soul is really seeking is an experience of our infinite spiritual nature.

I have experienced this. As my inner being has become more settled through my spiritual practice, my wants for everything external have come down drastically. I don’t crave titles or recognition or fame or power. My relationship with wealth is also evolving. I don’t have a craving for them. If they come in alignment with my work, I’ll accept them to the extent necessary knowing full well that what comes, must also go. This wasn’t the case just a few years ago.

This has led me towards becoming more grounded as to who I really am. A spiritual being having a human experience.

You might ask,  what fun is there if we lose all desires?

What you lose is mundane, surface level, ego clingings. Which when fulfilled lead to further expansions and desires of the ego. A source of never ending misery, struggle and drudgery.

Instead what you get is a settling within yourself whereby your soul begins to guide your next steps from a deeper awareness. You begin to see the currents that others don’t. You begin to connect the dots to find your own way forward - one that leads to a deeper alignment with your very being.

This has led me to a greater recognition that we’re currently on the path to self-destruction as a species. And unless a sufficient number of us wake up and start to create an alternate path forward, we will surely get there.

What is sad is that most of us will be putting up with the ‘drudgery’ of our current way of being while self-destructing.

The capitalists really know how to pull off a good trick and marketing is their favorite tool to hook us onto unnecessary wants and desires.

Further possession of a greater physicality will not fulfill our inherent desire for a deeper connection to ourselves and others. It will only take us further away.

You’ve heard the saying - “The things you own end up owning you.”

At the same time, our current societal paradigm -

• Leaves us with little to no time for our health. 

• Leaves us with little to no time for our loved ones. 

• Leaves us with little to no room to grow as spiritual beings.

We need a higher consciousness that helps us move from constant restlessness towards stillness. Awakening to an inner presence where our cravings and clingings can settle and process out of our body.

We need a higher consciousness of our own internal strength.

We need a higher consciousness of love for ourselves and others. Not just other humans, but a love for our entire planet.

We need a higher consciousness of ancient wisdom to guide us forward in this moment.

We need our soul to speak through us and guide us forward.

The famous buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh said it best - “The Way Out is In”.

I hope to see you at the many upcoming meditation offerings where we create just such a possibility of moving from restlessness towards inner stillness. 🙏

~ Nitin