The quest for status and accomplishment is a driving force in many lives. Competition and striving to get ahead in a chosen profession can be all-consuming, and maintaining what is created requires massive expenditures of time and energy.
Are the demands on your time so relentless that there is no room left on your plate for anything new? If so, your creations may be driving you rather than the other way around. What starts out as a drive to fulfill a dream turns into a prison, trapping your creative spirit and shackling it to a never-ending treadmill of responsibility and status management.
Being special brings rewards of recognition, status, financial freedom, position power and the trappings of the good life. Special, accomplished, expert, on top, in the lead; all of these are worthy goals to pursue.
There is another aspect of successful living that must be mastered, however, and that is to turn striving into thriving. This is where a relationship with nothing comes in.
Nothing. Emptied. Surrendered. Receiving. The unknown. Inflow. The void. Space. Breathing room. In the present. Content. These are a few of the words that begin to open the door to stabilizing your inner core so that you can let more enjoyment in. Going to nothing will allow you to connect with the true richness of your accomplishments.
When you are in sync with your unique rhythm, timing and tempo, your life becomes an exquisite flow between being nobody and being somebody, doing something and doing nothing.
Inflow, outflow. Breathe in, breathe out. Dynamic, receptive. Dominant, easy-going. Serious, playful. Open, closed. Growing, maintaining. Strong, sensitive. Masculine, feminine. When you choose the right action in the present moment, your spontaneous, inspirational and creative wisdom has room to participate.
When you insist on holding on to rigid roles and rules that constrict your creative freedom, you are in danger of becoming a mechanical sleepwalker reduced to a “life is hard and then you die” existence.
This week, tap into your own unique wisdom base by using the concept of special and nothing as a yardstick.
Perhaps your life is too small, and you are understimulated. If that is the case, it is time to take new risks and stretch. Are you too identified with being “nobody special?” If so, life may be waiting for you to step up and stand up for yourself and your unique abilities. Take the right action by extending beyond your normal routines and habitual comfort zones. Turn up the music.
On the other hand, your life may be demanding too much. It may have a voracious appetite, always lusting for more. In this case, it is time to clear your plate, take smaller bites out of life and let go of being driven by the relentless taskmaster within. Your new challenge might be ordering up a large helping of “nothing” in the form of time off, musing, re-evaluating priorities, turning your attention to your personal relationships or getting reacquainted with you and your deeper desires.
More play, less control is challenging to execute when we have allowed ourselves to be seduced into thinking that our world will collapse without our input. The nothing side of the street has many benefits. It is seldom crowded. It is devoid of competition. It willingly helps us learn to laugh at ourselves and lighten up. It is inexpensive, except for our overcharged ego. Going to nothing is often the smartest right action we can take when life’s demands have stretched us to the breaking point.
Mastering the art of being special and being nobody brings a grace of movement. Begin to create a rhythm and timing in your daily activities so that you begin to see your life as a moment-to-moment expression of the miraculous and the mundane walking hand in hand.
Susan has written and produced personal development seminars for over thirty years. Her book Beyond Intellect: Journey into the Wisdom of Your Intuitive Mind is a handbook for self-support. susanvelasquez.com.
