Do you sometimes find it difficult to be in the world? Do you feel that you are not of this world, that you seem to face every step and yet you have to find a way to exist in it? Do you yearn for more, but can’t seem to find what you are looking for in the world? I often feel that I am a stranger here, that I do not belong, and yet I am here. I have to find a way to be in this world, this world that feels too hard, that often grinds against the self that feels so sensitive, so tender, that is not of this world.
Why do I feel like I don’t belong? I am afraid of the competition, the struggle and the struggle that dominates the world. Whenever I can, I withdraw from the hustle and bustle of a world that cries out for my attention and makes empty promises about products and experiences it thinks I should have … what for? Be popular? Have what everyone else has? To respond to the latest trend? Feel a sense of accomplishment? To achieve external measures of success? To find meaning? To import?
For a long time, I sought to quench my inner thirst within the outer world. I thought I had to look more closely, longer, in different places with different people. It was only when I realized that what I was looking for existed within me and that I had been looking in the wrong places that I found comfort and satisfaction beyond anything I have fleetingly experienced in my life. I realized that the outside world couldn’t provide anything that would fulfill my inner yearning for more. The “more” he was looking for could not be found in any “thing”, any new emotion or experience, nor could it be found in any achievement. You might experience a brief feeling of euphoria or triumph, but the feeling never stayed. It never really took out my inner thirst for more. Rather, the feeling faded and I found myself looking to create another experience where I could feel this “high” again. The feeling could not and did not want to stay because it was based on the acquisition, achievement or experience of something external. The only way to feel it again was to search for the next best thing to acquire, achieve, or experience, and it became clear that it would be an endless cycle. Nothing that arose within the outer world could really answer my inner longing for more because that call comes from my soul, my spirit, my true Self.
Do you feel an inner call? Do you feel a longing deep in your soul? You are paying attention? That inner call asks us to remember who we really are, to remove the blinders that prevent us from seeing our true identity as spiritual beings. It asks us to look beyond the appearance that we are separate individuals because we inhabit bodies during this life experience. He asks us to realize that without the inner light that our spirits bring into our bodies, they are nothing more than empty shells. We are the vital energy that we can feel pulsing within us, the wise, calm and loving presence in which we find ourselves, when we stand still and focus inward.
That inner calling reminds us to seek more than we can see and experience with the five senses of our physical body and begin to open up to deeper levels of meaning, interaction, and communion. That longing calls us and asks us to pay attention to what has lasting meaning, to what speaks of our inner truth. As our consciousness opens to the truth of who we really are, the outside world loses its appeal. We begin to realize that we cannot find the meaning we seek in the empty promises of the ego world because it exists outside of our true nature. Rather, the meaning we seek can only be found within, in the calm and silent presence that is our soul. It is there that we experience the peace that we have longed for, the knowledge that we have felt, and the love and meaning that we have sought in the outside world. That is where we find our truth.
With the purpose of to be In this world, I have to spend “soul time” every day. I have to shut up and step into the still presence that waits for me to return. I have to take time for reflection and prayer so that I can stay grounded in a world that is based on the belief that we are all separate, all competing for scarce resources, all struggling to get ahead and succeed. Isn’t everything based on an inner longing to find meaning, to matter, to be someone? That meaning and knowing that we matter unconditionally can only be found where the call originated from … on the inside. The source of the call tells us where to look, and as soon as we are willing to do so, we begin to find our way back home to the Divine, to God, our true Source and Home.
How do you find your “grounding” so that you can to be in this world? How do you respond to your inner yearning for more? Share in the comment box below so we can connect as the spiritual family that we are. Namaste dear ones. I send you a great love.