Why am I in this place and what am I supposed to do?
Now, isn’t that the question of the ages? At some point in our lives, don’t we all think, “So what is this all about? Why am I in this place and what am I supposed to do?”
And sometimes we’ll have an intense meditation, get a big realization of what it’s all about, crack up and roll on the floor laughing, thinking we’ve solved the problem of the ages, and in two days, we’re sitting there again going, “Hmm, I wonder why I’m here.”
It’s even funny for me to think I’m going to tell the big secret. Why? Because it’s inexpressible. And that is not a cop-out, because I’m going to try anyway. But I look at this as art, not as a left-brain, logical explanation. Logic, after all, is why we’re sitting here going, Now what could this be?”
In a few short words, we’re here to experience it all, to be it all. That’s what we’re here to learn; how to go through it all: the joy, the sorrow, the merriment, the depression, the feelings of security, feelings of fear, love, hate, anger, happiness, calmness, upset . . . all the highs and also the lows.
But (we say), I don’t wanna be scared, upset, depressed, sorrowful. So we spend time making arrangements so that we can be secure, happy and peaceful. Only it doesn’t always work, does it? Fear comes at us like a demon. Friends leave or pets die, and we suffer. A tree falls on our house, and we’re so upset we rant and rave at the sky, shouting, “Why are You doing this to me?” In times of distress, we really get down to questioning, “Why am I here?” When we’re blissful, we don’t so much question it.
But here’s the point: we’re learning to be it all, without resistance. Our lessons are to stop shielding ourselves from life. As soon as we block the pain (or what we perceive as pain), the worse it gets. Why? Because it’s only our belief system that says, “This is bad. I don’t want to feel this.” The universe is set up to allow us our beliefs, and to give us more of what we believe, i.e., what we want.
Imagine a universe where we can have whatever we want, and better than that, it increases as we want it more. If we believe a certain experience is bad, the universe gives us more and more of our belief. The more we intensify our belief (by trying to hold it back), the more we get of it. That’s why certain people suffer more than others: because they really, really don’t want it. And are powerful blockers. But the universe reflects our power and we get it in our lap.
The secret is, of course, to understand what’s going on, and try to shift our beliefs — not to block more of what we don’t want. The secret is to accept the fact that we can experience anything as just another part of life, and feel it for what it is, and go on from there. Sorrow is just that: an emotion of grief from being separated from what we love. Allowing the grief to be there in its totality, as it needs to be, helps us discover an amazing thing: it’s only temporary. All things are temporary. Something else will come along, if we allow it. Otherwise, fending off that sorrow can become a full-time occupation, and the universe will comply with our desires. We’ll be stuck in sorrow for a long, long time.
We feel the sorrow. We feel the fear. We feel the unhappiness. And we know that there’s more to life. That emotion will change into something else: joy, peace, security. That doesn’t mean the grief goes away and never returns. It is a part of us and we will re-experience it. But we don’t have to shove it away. We accept it. We cherish it. And then we come to the real lesson we’re here to learn: it can all be cherished, accepted and loved. That’s the secret. Underlying it all is love. Big L Love. The universe is love, and when we accept that, and accept it all, we can learn to love the joy, the peace, the merriment and the sorrow, the fear, and the depression. What exists is Love. Divine Love. But it’s up to us to take the responsibility for our life. Accepting full responsibility for however we feel — that’s the path of Love. And isn’t it a wonderful path to walk? Do we really want to give that responsibility to someone else? Hand it to the “authorities” to make us secure and peaceful? Watch out for that one!
We’re here to accept a valuable lesson: we can only take responsibility for our own selves. Our job (joy of being) is to inspire others by the example of our own lives.
Why am I here? To learn to stop asking and start being — all of it!
Burton “EarthWalker” Smith is a wanderer. He can usually be found roaming somewhere around North America and writing about it. “I want to be a catalyst, inspiring others to follow their heart’s dream, and be all they can be.” He’d be delighted to hear from you. His mail forwarding address is: 187 Paragon Parkway, #135, Clyde, NC 28721, Voice Mail (704) 258-4839.
