Originally posted on Facebook HERE
Up way early again today. The view out my back window is really non existent this time of the day this time of the year. Nice lamp. Anyway – was thinking this morning about what it means to “have it all”. I’m sure everyone has a different answer to that. Some people might say a million dollar net worth would be the answer, but in Matthew Kelly’s book “The Rhythm of Life” he says that studies reveal that the more money you have, the more likely you are to take your own life. Some might say it revolves around finding that special someone to share your life with, yet more than one in two marriages ends in divorce or separation. Some might say it’s a combination of money, relationship, great job, etc… and all of these are things external to where happiness and fulfillment will reside. To me, “having it all” is more about learning to find joy in our present moments. Being calm when everything in your world is falling apart. Money, relationships, jobs, possessions… can all be taken away from us. We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make more, to find that person who will “complete” us, to move up the ladder at work, to keep up with the Jones’s with our cars, our homes, our boats… and maybe the answer is that if we just kept everything simple and learned to live within our means doing what we love with people we love to be with nothing else matters. Do we really consider all our options? At some point don’t we just start living our days on autopilot? I’m not sure it’s ever possible to totally get away from that. But to “have it all”, the vast majority of our days should be filled with love. Is it love that makes us worry about money, or fear? Is it love that makes you think you’re not complete without a significant other, or fear? Is it love that makes you think you need to move up the ladder at work, and have a better car or boat than your neighbors, or fear? Fear is the worst life strategy you can have. Find the love. Sell it all, buy a tiny house, live in the woods the rest of your life. That’s an option. People do it. Maybe they’re happy, maybe not. The people who have done it never would have known had they not had the idea and taken the risk. Opportunity is everywhere. Every second of every day is an amazing gift. We spend way too many of those moments in worry, despair, and anxiety. “Having it all” is an inside job. Get right with God. Inside all of us is the peace that comes from honing that relationship, but we need to seek it. Follow His guidance. Open ourselves to opportunities, because often they only knock once, and they’re gone. Sometimes, the less we have the more we have.
