How do we know what really matters? What’s the measuring stick for ‘matters most?’
Being matters
Philosopher, Alan Watts, wrote:
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It’s so plain and so obvious and so simple.
And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
Watts invites us to rest in the deepest, most grounded, stable truth – that the awareness of being alive is all that’s needed to attain fulfillment, satisfaction and joy.
Hindu philosophy calls this simple, plain, obvious aliveness: sat-chit-ananda (translated) Existence. Consciousness. Bliss.
It is enough to exist as Consciousness/Energy/Love.
No chasing after success, striving for more. It is enough to rest in simply being conscious for happiness and satisfaction to arise.
The measuring stick of simply being might seem a winner for its simplicity. Regardless, it has stiff competition.
Doing matters
Western cultures tend to promote the idea that what matters is to work hard to make money to achieve success and happiness.
This mantra produces a treadmill of trying again and again to fill a belief-hole that this, that, the other, and more is needed before we can be fulfilled.
Watts doesn’t say don’t do things….raise children, create a garden, lead a company, clean the oceans, write a book, walk more often……..
He points to the power and ease of letting go conditioned ideas about what matters to reveal the contentment and peace in simply being; conscious, boundless, aliveness.
The ability to act and create is a beautiful gift. It’s the wear and tear generated by the ‘doing matters’ belief which calls into question this measuring stick.
Actions born from the conviction that what we do is the source of fulfillment trigger the survival program which says; “I’ve got to have what I don’t have before I can be happy.”
This survival program turns on the stress response in our nervous system and biology which undermines our health and wellbeing.
Perhaps it’s time to re-consider the ‘doing matters’ mantra.
Enough matters
The contemplation; “What matters?” invites us to turn within. To know, deeper than beliefs and cultural conditioning, that you are worthy, whole and enough simply by being alive.
What you are is not just enough. Not, enough for now and not enough tomorrow. Being what you are is a constant never-ending, rampant plenty of enough-ness.
Knowing you are enough:
- re-sets your nervous system away from the stress response and turns on the rest, digest, heal and create response.
- aligns your actions with Life so that your ‘doing’ expresses your true nature – love and peace.
Rest in being enough.
Over-flow your enough-ness in your doing. Let your actions share the love and peace of being alive.
Love,
Fiona
Be Enough. Join us in the next Awakening Circle.
The Awakening Circle is a space to rest in simply being and re-set your nervous system to live from the security of being ‘enough.’
This re-set allows the life force that animates your body to act, create and express from ‘enough-ness’ as opposed to acting out of fear and scarcity.
If you’re curious to experience deep, stable, peace, security, happiness and wellbeing join us in the next Awakening Circle.
The Awakening Circle – click to find out more.
