This is it

We are human beings, not human becomings. Then why is it that the emphasis seems to be on becoming, self-improvement, self-development, getting better, reaching, seeking, and striving? Striving toward what? What’s the goal? And will we know it when we get there? And will a sense of finally arriving put an end to this future-oriented, higher, better version of ourselves?

While we can understand the human impulse to grow and evolve, one must ask oneself, at what cost? That is, while we are hell-bent on achieving some idealist sense of self, that is something other than who we think we are right now, that we assume will derive through further time and effort, is there any recognition and appreciation of who and what we are right now? And what underlies this motivation? Do we ever stop and really explore this sense that this is not it? Or we aren’t there yet? Or there’s something not right about us, here and now?

Whatever is driving this impulse toward getting better do we know for sure that it’s an evolutionary imperative, or simply a personal sense of inadequacy, a nagging feeling that we aren’t enough? In other words, is our discontent rooted in the yet-to-unfold sense of our wholeness and self-worth (our true self) that is seeking to be uncovered and revealed, or is this discontent merely a capitulation to the shadowy belief that I am inherently flawed and inadequate (a false self). Doesn’t it seem quite important to make this distinction lest we perpetuate a relentless pursuit that might only deepen the sense of an imagined self, and take us further from recognizing the essential self that we have been overlooking in this desperate search?

You and I were made in the image and likeness of God, i.e., we are spiritual beings. That our sense of self became identified with a body and a mind does not change our essential spiritual nature. Whatever shortcomings we may perceive in this body/mind representation of self, whether there are thoughts and feelings of being too fat, or too thin, or not smart enough or ambitious enough, or any of a whole host of “not enoughs” they do not in any way diminish, tarnish or affect the divine original wholeness and perfection of our true being.

Our essential self is like the sun that shines brightly and unobstructed regardless of the ever-changing conditions of the sky. However, when we are identified with the false self, with its laundry list of inadequacies, we see only clouds, and the sun is obscured by this limited perspective. So from a purely spiritual perspective, what’s missing in our experience is not to be found by “self” improvement, or finally reaching some idealized state of accomplishment or betterment (a cloudless sky) but by seeing the reality of our true self. This ends the search for sunlight, by being the source of Light. Instead of looking for the sun behind the illusory obstacles, we become what we are, the sun itself. Just as the sun illuminates itself by being itself, we recognize the light of our own being by simply being the light, not looking for light outside ourselves. In this true place of self-awareness, no improvement is necessary. We are as God created us, perfect, whole, and free. From here we can play with changing this and changing that, setting goals, and trying out different ways of expressing ourselves through this body/mind but all the while we retain this sense of a self that needs no improvement.

God’s work in you is done. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to realize and know yourself as the divine original you already are. Contrary to the relentless seeking of a false self, this journey is without distance and time and arises in the ever-present here and now by simply recognizing the truth of your nature as presence-awareness. Simply being aware of being aware puts an end to the search for peace and happiness by showing us a boundless reality in which we are unlimited and free.

Peace and blessings,

Rev. Larry