Is That Al There Is?

Not only do I go outside first to fix what’s bothering me, instead of inside first - which is the same as ignoring the real, unseen powers of compassion, intuition and forgiveness within me - but, part and parcel with that, I often denigrate - poo poo those powers, forgetting they are what I really want, just because they are always there, ready and waiting, my birthright, and I need do nothing to ‘earn’ them, in fact can’t ‘earn’ them, but can only be aware of them and share them simply by being - being still and quiet and needing nothing. The busyness of the world - the ego nightmare, is designed to keep me unaware of my inner treasures, and focused outside me, on what doesn’t matter and doesn’t bring peace, joy and compassion.

The classic song, “Is that all there is?” (Peggy Lee’s version was popular 40 years ago) nicely captures how hollow life is when lived from the outside-in, instead of the inside-out.  The song says we don’t need more thrills and stuff, we need more peace, love and attention, compassion, and encouragement, not from other people, events or situations, but from ourselves, from living inside-out; acknowledging our abundant inner resources, being grateful for them, using them and allowing others to do the same.

All the best things are free.  Love is free.  Wisdom is free.  Joy is free. Peace is free.  Everything of true value is given us as our birthright.  They are the unseen powers, the gifts of spirit, freely given and available to everyone, even to those in deepest denial. Get off the merry-go-round of materialism, stop living from the outside-in, acknowledge, receive and use the love, joy, intuition and creativity already within you.  It’s what the most successful among us do.  In fact it’s what their success is all about.

In his commencement speech at Stanford in June 2005, Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”