If I could
summarize all of my knowledge from my 50 years of
life experience, and all of my investigations into the
Big Picture, it would be just one word: en-joy.
All of
science and mathematics, art, business, sports,
any aspect of life, can be boiled down into this word.
Because, the only reason anyone ever does anything is
the idea that it would feel good to do it. En-joy
applies even to the most abstruse logician, working in
the area of pure Mind, attempting to divorce himself
from all feeling and bias.
Because
underneath all of that attempted purity of observation
and reasoning, is the beauty and en-joyment of what is
created.
The
corollary to en-joy is create. To create is to devise
new ways of experiencing. Creation begins in the realm
of pure thought, all the way down to intense physical
activity.
Creation
provides an opportunity to en-joy the experience of
creating. In other words, it is an end in itself. The
beautiful painting, the well-crafted story, document, or
law, the new business venture, the new relationship,
etc, all are creations-in-progress. The doing and
experiencing of these things provide an opportunity to
connect with the source energy of the universe, which
can be described as a stream of well being flowing to
you.
I write
en-joy, to emphasize the creative nature of
enjoyment.
A lot of
times we use en-joy in the passive sense; that is, if we
create or observe something we like, then we
feel good. But if we create or observe something we
don't like, we will feel bad.
This is a
conditional experience of enjoyment. It is dependent
upon observation of the creations of ourselves and
others.
To en-joy
something is to place joy into it. It is an active,
creative concept, not a passive, dependent one.
Nothing you
observe has the slightest power to affect you in any
way, unless you decide that it does. That means that
anything that happens to you can be en-joyed.
The
observation of something pleasant does not generate a
good feeling because of some inherent property of the
object itself. Similarly for an observation of something
you don't like. Any good or bad feeling arises in you
because of your consideration or judgment, your
interpretation, about what is observed. It is all
within you. You are creating and interpreting your own
experience.
'Reality'
is not something fixed and unchanging. 'Reality' is a
creation of our thoughts and beliefs. Consider it.
Scientists tell us that the universe is in a state of
constant expansion. That means, a state of constant
flux, or change. How can 'reality' be fixed and
immovable in a universe with these properties? The
answer is, it can't. 'Reality' is constantly changing.
If your personal reality is not in a good place, or is
not on the way to becoming likable, then you are
probably creating almost 100% from observation. This is
a rather sloppy and lazy way to create your reality, for
what-is, well, just IS! The hamster sees the wheel in
front of him and moves toward it, then he sees the wheel
in front of him and moves toward it...How can anything
change under those conditions?
Walt Kelly
had it right when he said: "We have met the enemy
and he is us." You are the only one who can do yourself
in.
In my
contracting business I never seemed to make enough
money, because I could never bid out my jobs at a high
enough price. I used to think that was 'just the way it
is.' I would tell myself 'it's the economy.' 'People
just don't want to pay a good price for good work
anymore.' One day I decided to figure out why I
was constantly short of money. I began to examine some
of these old concepts and feelings. I made a list of all
of my considerations and judgments on the subject of
contracting, and money. I was shocked at what my true
attitude was toward my business. Then and there I
decided to change those attitudes. The funny thing is,
the people I used to work for, the ones who never were
willing to pay a 'good price for good work', those
people never seem to show up in my life anymore! The
people I began to contact all just wanted a good job and
were willing to pay what it cost, no questions asked.
Coincidence? No way. My prices rose
throughout the recession and after September 11, 2001
when the economy was in trouble. I have never had, since
my change of thought and attitude, any trouble finding
people willing to pay me a 'good price for good work.'
The only thing that changed for the better were my
thoughts and my vision of what I wanted. Everything else
around me was going to hell in a handbasket. "Reality'
around me was changing for the worse, yet my own
personal reality was getting better. If I simply created
my life from observation of the reality around me,
as I used to do, my business would probably have
gone under.
An
expanding universe has the property of malleability.
That means it is possible to change our personal
condition at any time. It doesn't depend a fig on what
others are doing. In fact, paying too much attention to
what others are doing and saying is like the guy who
cheats on his geometry exam. He looks over at the girl
sitting next to him and copies all her answers, because
he knows she got A's in History and English. When the
exams are returned, they both get an F!
Consciously
en-joying, or appreciating, brings more joyful
manifestations. In our vibrational universe model,
that's the only way it can be.
Suppose
cousin Joe decides to quit his well paying job and
invest his life savings in a restaurant. He is bored
with his job, even though he is quite successful. He
wants to do something new and exciting. Joe has
absolutely no experience in the restaurant business. It
is clear to you that his ideas and visions for the
restaurant will never work out. It is clear that his
enthusiasm will never overcome his bad business sense.
It's also clear to you that Joe has always been the type
to launch into something quickly, then get discouraged
when immediate results are not forthcoming.
You can see
that Joe's restaurant idea is a recipe for disaster.
Yet for
Joe, the whole idea is a big adventure which he
plunges into with eagerness. His enthusiasm and hard
(but joyful) work manages to overcome his abysmal
business decisions, and the restaurant stays afloat. You
look at Joe and can't figure out why he would trade a
successful job, where he had plenty of free time and
money, to one in which he works 7 days a week and barely
breaks even.
The answer
is, en-joyment. Joe loves being his own boss. He loves
dealing with customers. He loves the idea of providing
great food and good atmosphere to enjoy it in. For him,
working 7 days a week isn't work at all, but fun.
It makes no
sense to you, and it even seems wrong to you.
Joe has no
time for his family anymore. He spends literally every
waking hour at his restaurant.
You can see
that his marriage is going down the tubes.
But Joe is
happy, happier than he has ever been in his life.
Are Joe's
actions wrong? Would it have been better for him to stay
in his boring job and keep his marriage intact? Joe has
3 kids after all, what is to become of them? Is it right
for Joe to change his life so that he is happy all of
the time in his new work, even though others may seem to
be adversely affected?
The answer
is, I think, that there is nothing we can do about it!
If Joe is happy, he will continue to do those things
that make him happy; unless, of course, he is more
concerned with the opinions of others than his own
happiness. Are we to tell Joe he must sell his
restaurant and find some other, more profitable work so
that he can support and spend more time with his family?
That may make the rest of us feel good, but what about
Joe?
The
difficulty with this approach is that Joe's actions are
judged by some societal, ethical, moral, or religious
standard of conduct that seems appropriate to the
majority. Joe doesn't care a whit about what others
think. He has learned to trust his inner guidance.
I have
learned that to ignore my inner voice is to go down the
path to misery.
I have
learned that when one trusts ones self and looks inward
for answers, those answers are always the ones that lead
to joy.
I have
learned that, ultimately, it's not about the goal,
it's about the journey. It's the fun you have along the
way. No matter how strange someone else's behavior
seems, the fundamental reason for doing anything is the
en-joyment of it. The enjoyment of something is the ONLY
justification necessary for doing it.
That's the
answer I have been looking for all of my life.
That's the
answer that has made my life a lot simpler and more fun.
I have
finally learned that it's none of my business what my
fellow human beings think, say or do, no matter how
harmful their actions may seem to me.
I have
finally realized that people will do what they wish,
regardless of my objections, and that it is futile for
me to try and stop them. Besides, there are 6 billion of
them! How am I going to make sure all 6 billion are
doing the right things?
I have
realized that it's not my job to prevent others their
freedom to be, do and have.
Each person
is en-joying life as much as they are able, and I am now
satisfied to allow them to do so. Besides, it's a lot
more fun for me! And a lot less work. I no longer have
to go around observing and pointing out to myself the
flaws in the behavior of others, and thinking up ways of
trying to fix it. That way of living caused me so much
anger and anxiety (and health problems) that I just had
to let go of it.
Of course,
there are many many people throughout the world who
joyfully go about the business of trying to mold the
world into a better place for them to live in. My hats
are off to them --- as long as they are having fun. You
can't possibly do any harm when you're truly having fun,
because the actions taken are all from an attitude of
light-heartedness. When the goal starts mattering more
than the enjoyment along the way, problems result. In
that scenario, all of us are now expected to 'follow the
rules' laid down by the fixer-uppers! Now we have
problems. Now we have conflict, and even war.
You can't
possibly hurt another by staying joyful. It's only when
you get off the path of en-joyment that problems arise.
The name of
the game is enjoyment.