I find that we’re a people obsessed with arriving.
The belief that there is a destination of achievement that will make us happier in life. We achieve to death through our careers, academics and relationships in hopes of truly feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Once we get the promotion, or leave that career for our dream job we will have arrived. Once we figure it out, we make the move, get past the holidays, get the degree, get married, buy the house, have the kids, get rid of that 20 pounds. Once we arrive at achieving our current goal, then we can breathe and let go. Then, and only then, can we let ourselves lean into the purity and goodness of the present moment. Only then can we rest awhile.
This moment, right now, is offering us its fullest richness. There are gifts here, in this space.
Yet, we find that once the goal is met we haven’t arrived anywhere. If we’re lucky we feel a momentary reprieve before an overwhelming pressure sets in. The next achievement we must conquer lies looming. The miles stretch on.
We earned the degree, but we’ll feel better when we get the job. We land the job, but now we need the promotion. On it goes. Apply this algorithm to any area of our lives – work, home, body, mind or spirit. The outcome is the same. We are always in pursuit and never arriving.
We need to stop and baptize ourselves in the gratitude of what is. The wealth of the world is in this present moment.
We are exhausted because arriving is a myth. It isn’t really a destination. It’s a vicious cycle – an endless loop. It’s rooted in a mindset of scarcity. Scarcity says what we have is not enough. It dictates that who we are is not enough. In a mindset of scarcity we believe that we must arrive at some mystical and magical destination which can never be arrived at because it was all in our heads. If we are not enough right now, as we are, then nothing else will ever be either. We’re destined to roam the desert of scarcity until we balance our worthy pursuits with a belief in our enoughness. We must shift to a mindset of abundance.
The devil isn’t in our worthy pursuits and ambitions. It’s not in our desire to excel or achieve. Goals, ambitions and achievements are necessary parts of a fulfilling life. It’s in our belief that our worthiness hinges on the fulfillment of those goals. The devil is in our insistence that there can be only one direct path to those goals which renders us inflexible to the possibilities the world holds for us in other, more circuitous paths. It’s in our avoidance of our inner landscape by looking solely at what is ahead. This can happen when we’re too afraid to listen to what we truly want and need now or when we are unable to listen with self-compassion. Instead we listen with judgement. The devil is in our inability to be present as we journey forward.
The place our hearts and minds long to arrive at is right now.
We need to stop and baptize ourselves in the gratitude of what is. The wealth of the world is in this present moment. The place our hearts and minds long to arrive at is right now. This moment, right now, is offering us its fullest richness. There are gifts here, in this space.
Developing a practice in the three areas of gratitude, presence and compassion will revolution your entire life and lead you through gateways of abundance inside and out.
So how do we let go of our scarcity mindset that our worthiness is linked to our achievement status? How do we replace the myth of arriving with an abundance mindset? Like all worthy pursuits in life, it’s a practice. Developing a practice in the three areas of gratitude, presence and compassion will revolution your entire life and lead you through gateways of abundance inside and out.
Tomorrow we will explore these three areas in detail and learn exactly how you can integrate them into daily living in easy and effective ways.
Kristen Kidd Photography is an individual & family portrait photography studio in the North Wales suburb of Philadelphia, Pa. We specializes in helping individuals and two-legged and four-legged families stop and reconnect with the love in their lives through fun and unique photo experiences and custom designed wall art collections.
