This moment, it's like this
Being content, right now
Dear Kula Diaries,
We’ve been conditioned to want things. We’ve been conditioned to believe that things will be better once we have certain things: a new car or a new job… more stuff… the perfect things. And I’m here to tell you: at best, it’s a lie. At worst, we spend our entire lives searching for something that we (don’t realize we) already have.
Note: keep in mind, I’m talking about things above and beyond our basic needs, which vary from person to person.
Now, I’m not saying that you should just stay where you are and never pursue any dreams or goals… that’s definitely not it. Yes, connect with yourself. Yes, listen to your heart. Yes, do what calls to you and bring the best of who you are into the world. Yes, allow magical things to flow into your life. Yes, appreciate the amazing stuff and opportunities (both tangible and intangible) that arrive in your experience. Yes, be generous with others. All of these things are good and wonderful, but none of them will ever bring lasting fulfillment if you are trying to ‘get them’ in order to fill a void. Namely, if you want something because you think it will solve your problems — it probably won’t.
Many years ago, I started creating my ‘vision’ for what I wanted to do with my life — because I felt very stuck and unhappy where I was. As I reflect now on that list of ‘accomplishments’, I realize with shocking clarity: I’ve checked off most of the boxes. And yet, even as I moved from living one life… into another … each checkmark was merely a temporary balm… until even the thing that I thought would solve my problems wasn’t enough.
Over the past few months, I’ve been contemplating the things that I want and what really matters to me, and I’ve settled on an important word: contentment. Being OK with where I am, right now. Trusting the universe around me and the timing of things. Not trying to force anything to happen. Not overworking myself. Enjoying the small things. Taking time to appreciate each day for what it is, not what it isn’t. There is this unspoken belief in the entrepreneurial world that if you aren’t trying to get more and be more and do more at all times… than you are failing. But in that striving, where do we carve out the space for gratitude? When is more ever going to be enough? The truth is, as long as we are searching for something outside of ourselves, it never will be.
I don’t need an empire. I don’t want to build a skyscraper. I just want to live a happy, simple life that is meaningful and fulfilling — a life that creates a ripple of goodness for other humans. I want to live in a way that inspires others to follow their own hearts. I want to support and uplift others. I want to paint watercolors and hand-letter quotes for my customers. I want to come home in the evening and feel good about what I did that day. I want to laugh with the people I work with and with my friends and family. I want to play with my cats. I want to spend time outside. I want to feel good and healthy in my body. I want to dance and feel free. I want to feel nourished. I want to feel loved, and I want to love others. I want to be creative and bring a sense of playfulness and fun into everything that I do. I want to wake in the morning feeling grateful that the day includes me — and that I get another chance to bring more good into the world. I want to use what I’m doing to help others find the same peace in their own lives.
I did a meditation the other day, and the instructor used a phrase that really stuck with me. At one point in the meditation he said, “This moment, it’s like this,” and I was profoundly struck by the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of that statement. Each moment of our lives can be distilled down to breathing and existing… and yet, the improbability of our mere existence and the trillions of cells that it took for this single moment in time to be possible is beyond comprehension. This moment, it’s like this: the whole universe, existing in each of us.
I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with wanting — because creating can be fun and important, but if you believe that what you create will solve your problems — you might be surprised to learn that when you get where you were going, the proverbial carrot will jump its way a teeny bit further into the distance. Just one more thing to do. And, then… maybe then, I’ll be done.
When I think about the years that I spent wanting something else, I realize that I did most of that through the lens of what I didn’t want — rather than focusing on the things that I had. And the funny thing about finding a feeling of deep contentment and satisfaction where you are, is that it has a way of connecting you to the abundant nature of all things. This means that as you let go of needing… you actually allow more things to flow into your life, without trying as hard. When you stop trying to force things to happen, you start to allow the universe itself to work with your creativity… to allow its golden tendrils to stretch out across the cosmos in ways that we probably can’t comprehend or understand. Sometimes we find ourselves in a place in life where we do not feel satisfied or content — and that’s OK. These are the moments that till the soil of our lives… they prepare the ground to be fertile as we plant the seeds of peace. These are the moments that teach us not to look outside of ourselves… but to look deeply within. From this place, we begin to bloom.
And so, this week — my wish for all of you is simple: to find a feeling of contentment, wherever you are right now… even if it isn’t where you ultimately want to be. What can you do to feel content and satisfied? Maybe it’s sitting outside with a cup of tea… maybe it’s watching your cats frolic in the grass… maybe it’s lying down on the ground and looking up at the night sky. Whatever it is for you, see if you can make a commitment to yourself to do one (or several) things that give you a true sense of feeling deeply satisfied and content. Once you find the feeling, savor it. Allow the feeling to wash over you — feel the everythingness of the present moment and let it be as it is, just like this. See what you can find when you touch a place where you don’t need anything at all — except for exactly how you are, right now. Hold onto that feeling and soak in it for awhile.
What can happen If I simply be In this moment right now Being me? My heart is beating My lungs are breathing As I focus on now, My thoughts are leaving I'm simply here The universe under my feet Nowhere to go No deadlines to meet I can give my heart a rest I can feel the ease As I relax my cells And let them breathe My strength lies not in doing But in letting go And as I do I start to flow I exist, I exist And I know there's a reason For all of the happenings In every season I trust my life I know it's a gift The whole universe inside me This moment's like this.
Friends — thank you all so much for being here. I’m so grateful for you. If you do take time this week to allow yourself to feel the feeling of contentment — make it intentional, make it special… and let me know how it goes. You might surprise yourself. The more that we feel the feelings of what we want to create, the more our life changes to match how we are feeling inside. The feeling comes first… and then things change. And the feeling comes from you.
Sending you all so much love, today and all days!
