This is a very interesting question! I could talk about it for days!
What immediately comes to mind for me is that not many people really realize that life is too short until it is too late to change anything.
We tend not to think about the inevitability of death very often, usually taking it for granted simply because we think we have time.
And maybe also because we see it as a morbid subject and ‘don’t want to go there’!
However when we are really faced with the prospect of death, as when I was diagnosed with cancer in my thirties, then we may start to really prioritize what’s important and start to organize our lives around doing things that we love and which are from love.
We start to ask ‘What do I really want, deep down?’ or ‘What is really important here?’
I think that doing things we hate is a judgment we make that often comes up in hindsight sometime after the actions have taken place and we look back with regret, wondering what we have actually done with our lives. For example, many people pursue the dream of a luxurious lifestyle or spend years trying to achieve recognition in their career, or finding the perfect partner and having a family, because that’s where they feel their happiness lies. But after years of toiling at a job that they have come to hate … just to pay the bills or to save up for a car or holiday or the children’s education etc … because it has begun to feel like a big chain around their neck this is when they may begin to feel that life is too short and that something needs to change.
Some people, not all, will even do something about it!
I think people do things they hate because they haven’t woken up to taking responsibility for bringing into their lives the things that they love. At some level, they can feel the compromise.
It can even make us frustrated and angry enough to want to hit out at the world in blame, violence and abuse, especially if we have been at the receiving end ourselves of someone else’s frustration.
It can also come from being afraid of other’s judgments and rejection. Most people, in general, are doing what they hate because they have been taught to ‘obey’ and not question the status quo. Society is geared that way. Others don’t want you to stand out from the crowd (the sheep mentality) … waking up can be a painful process even though the ultimate prize is true happiness, satisfaction and joy. If we all started to think for ourselves and take responsibility for our own happiness this would also be threatening to a government which basically relies on our enslavement mentality to continue to operate.
We live in a society which values materialism and outer achievement
The hope for our future lies in re-connecting with our inner knowing and allowing ourselves to be guided by our inner wisdom and by love in everything that we do, both for ourselves and our community. I think we are starting to wake up, as evidenced by, for example, the mindfulness movement and the growing recognition that our current lifestyle does not give us the happiness we truly crave… which can only really come from the inside.
That is why I feel this question is so pertinent … it is coming from an awakening consciousness that puts value on each precious moment we are gifted with.
Let us not be amongst those people on their deathbeds who are full of regrets for the truly good and valuable things they did NOT do whilst they still had time.
<><><>
Our Telegram community ‘Truly Transformational’ is full of resources for handling stress and moving towards vibrant health and well being.
“Since I joined the group, I have learned how to slow my thoughts through simple breathing techniques, and then connect my breathing to my heart. I’ve learned how to quieten my mind enough to hear and listen to my heart. I’ve learned that I am enough, and I have always been enough, I am loved, and I have always been loved and am love. I have always been… I had just forgotten. Now I am learning to remember. The best thing of all that I have learned, is that I always have a choice. I can choose whatever I like. I am learning to become an observer of my thoughts and reactions, which is enabling me to realize that there are other options, other thoughts to think… which create other feelings… I can choose to feel happy whenever I wish, no matter what I might have previously automatically thought. I love this feeling – it feels like being free… to be me… to be happy and loved… and to love x Joy, much love and gratitude to you… Today, I am remembering, and my wish is that I remember this every single day of my life xxx” Liz Fleming
