Fulfillment
When last we met back in August I was talking about the whole idea of becoming aware of what I am feeling and what those feelings are trying to communicate to me. I say they are trying to communicate, but that probably overstates it a bit. After all, feelings have no brain. They are by definition irrational. So when I think I'll control my anger or fear I am expecting the impossible. I may bury a feeling, but the only place to hide it is in my gut somewhere. Some day it will return and it will bring with it all kinds of other feelings buried along with it and I'll find myself in a spot I don't like.
If I'm actually wanting to live a erich, rewarding life, one that has reached fulfillment, dealing with my feelings in real time needs to be part of the equation. The previous posts dealt with the feelings and their meanings, but as someone said once, self knowledge of itself is worthless. That knowledge needs to be put to use, and all those many years when I had no idea what to do with the feelings I learned all kinds of ways to distract myself from knowing that vital information. Even today as I was writing this I distracted myself several times. It's been email, a phone call, checking my calendar a little Christmas shopping, which I know I'm not going to do...you get the idea.
It is incumbent on me to check in with myself regularly so I know what I'm feeling. And I have also found out that I'm afraid all the time, so the practice for me is to ask my self to recognize what I'm afraid of. Then I can figure out what I need to face it. At that point I can also then see if other feelings are hanging behind the fear.
Today what I've discovered is a continuation of work I've been doing over the last couple of weeks. I have known for some time that some of the work I've been doing is really ground breaking. This whole idea of feelings, especially in the workplace, but also everywhere else is more important today than ever before. I think the reason is that the further our species advances the less our lives are threatened, particularly in an immediate sense. My survival is not at risk.
So then I need to find out what the fear is and it turns out it's not complicated. I'm afraid my ideas will fail in the market place. People won't want to do business with me and then I won't have the stuff I want and on and on. If it sounds to you like I don't trust myself, you are correct. So rather than proceed find out by saying what I have in the marketplace I distract myself.
But I'm on to myself today and I'm back on track and finishing this post. And the motivation is fulfillment. That's what I want in my life. And let me explain what that means to me, so there's no confusion. I think fulfillment is the result of living a life that is true to the liver. It's based on acting in pursuit of my best values, sharing my wealth (in whatever ways it's measured) acting as though my relationships are mutually important, not just to one of us. Knowing my feelings and honoring them, and showing up each day to see what I can contribute. If I live my life that way, I will know my life is full. And I know that because when I have done those things I had felt powerful and content. Not content for all time, but for the moment. And powerful not over others, but over my intentions and actions.
And as I stand in my power today I am aware that a revolution is in progress in our world that is not unlike the one we had a century ago. Historians call that one the Industrial Revolution. People began using machines instead of human power to accomplish many tasks which were difficult and repetitive. People began to move from the rural farm communities to the cities where the factories were.
Our revolution is similar because people are moving out of the factories as computers and robots have taken over many of those jobs. It is also similar in that the work force is unskilled at many of the new tasks and the skilled work force is looking for employment that is as yet non existent.
Come back tomorrow and we'll begin to explore what the New Revolution looks like from here.
