Plowing Through Obstructions

“Any aggressive lust lacks balance and is unwholesome and obstructive.”    Bryant McGill

“You are likely the greatest obstacle to achieving your own dreams.”    Bryant McGill

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts; therefore guard accordingly.”    Marcus Aurelius

“To move forward, you must figure out exactly what is obstructing you. Whatever it is, it isn’t really there; it has no reality, no substance. It’s your own creation, a phantom lurking in the shadows of your mind, a shadow demon. Your obstructions are your demons, and your demons are shadow dwellers. They live and thrive in the half-light of ignorance, so the way to slay a demon is by illuminating it with the full force and power of your focused attention; by looking at it, hard. Banish shadow with light and see for yourself that no obstruction exists, nor ever did. We create our demons and we feed them. To awaken we must slay them. That’s really the whole process: Slay one demon, take one step. Repeat.”    Jed Mc Kenna

There are just too many times when sadness can overtake us and basically stop our progress in any and all directions. We are practically left motionless and reassess our hidden depressing thoughts. We have too many burdensome or bad days in a row and start questioning our lives. It may be at that point in time a friend or coworker announces they are going to a great place on vacation. That might be the point at which we crack and sometimes give up.

Maybe we truly need to examine what it is we are working on and towards. I know a t those times I consider what my motives are in life and what I want to strive for. Going through the list of positive  things like vacations or material objects helps me to rule out so many of them that I am not truly desiring. It sounds great to hear about someone’s upcoming vacation plans but then again it requires a lot of work and it might be a place that totally disinterests me.Instead of having one week with possible rain, cloudy weather sickness, tiredness long lines and disappointments, I might better spend my money on alleviating some stresses. Maybe paying to get a few jobs done will help me relax more. Wow I am just considering the fact that what I want is peace of mind and time to know myself and reflect on maybe some crazy things and maybe some serious stuff I would like to learn more about. Maybe I want to spend time with the family totally relaxed without thinking about when I will get to the jobs within the household and the mounting issues at the workplace. Oh and I can’t forget the problems I began in my relationships with others.  I do need to call and apologize to some but not all I reason.

if this sounds familiar in any way welcome to the modern family and the fast paced world of now you see it now you don’t. I know that stepping off of the ride even for a few hours feels quite  refreshing. I sense my mind talking to me like a parent or teacher and attempting to instruct me. Don’t do that you know it will be detrimental to you in the long run. Relax you don’t want to start the day off on a bad note. Don’t spend so much you will be trying to pay it off for a long time. Sometimes I listen and some  times I don’t. If I critiqued my thoughts I would conclude to listen more.

I guess what appears to be awesome from afar is not always as wonderful as our mind tricks us into believing. It is like cutting roses from a rose-bush. The best roses sometimes have the sharpest thorns. I am also aware of how other people make their dream appear so great that they want all of us to want it also. Maybe we would be dejected if we grabbed it. If we search after norther’s wants or desires we are left with nothing we really wanted.

Car commercials show gorgeous girls sitting on top of the car. Do men really want to have the woman with the car? Honestly they could be stupid, insincere, cheaters liars and out for themselves. they may be nice but would we really switch our life for that? If we gained it then what. Is it a goal to win the supermodel? When or if we do we might look around and find no one cares. People are happy with husbands and wives they have chosen unless someone  puts the bug in their ear that they shouldn’t be happy, they should want more. that is when the inner voice of self tries to parent us and many times we don’t listen.

Running towards something without thought can leave us grasping steam clouds. Even our answers can be senseless when we refuse to think first. Our off the top replies to  what we desire are as immature as a sixteen year old desire for a fast car,  or a toddlers desire for a big bag of candy. Too much candy makes one sick. Too much fast driving ends in a demolished car and possibly injuries. I am not saying candy or mustangs are not awesome but to place them on a desired list when we have a choice of such items as love peace patience kindness knowledge tolerance empathy and more is outrageous. I always go with love first because I find it brings the best out in me and unlimited dimensions of happiness in every area of my life. It is a panacea for the hurts and pains in life. Love is a goal we can all attain in our families and friends and community.

The vacation is quickly over and not always what we had hoped but usually that is kept a secret even to ourselves because we don’t want to look at the disappointment of our choice. We just close doors and move on. I am no downsizing my goals when I choose tolerance or empathy. The inner rewards of connecting with others are unbelievable. You have to experience it yourself to understand. When you remain calm with an upset child and refrain from hitting or yelling at them the turmoil ends and the child is subdued even from their effort of crying. When at last they share their problem you have the power to fix it. that is incredible to watch a young human being be inspired by what you said or how you calmly behaved. You are a hero.

You past their test. They believe you love them and they are willing to talk most of the time. At least silence is gained and maintained. The atmosphere changes because no fuel has been added to the fire and your calmness has dropped some needed soothing water on the blaze. What a feeling to see peace on their faces and burdens and stresses slipping away. That power to  heal is in all of us. We don’t think about it because we are too bust worrying about what we don’t have but desire.

In the end we can become depressed in our inability to make the girl on the car our own or the advertised vacation spot our destination. What is at that spot? Trees water birds blue skies and gentle breezes. I think I have included almost everyone’s place of residence. Searching beyond at times ends in disappointment and delusion. It becomes the itch that won’t go away. It is cool to end that kind of craving before it takes up all the room in our minds and leaves us no room to gain some of the things worth gaining. Vacations and big girl and big boy toys end quickly but love kindness and caring lasts a lifetime and gives endless rewards.

Stop the negative thinking of what you don’t have and what would be so great to acquire. Many  times those are our pipe dreams that don’t give us peace nor love but instead a moment’s worth of entertainment. They don’t require a lot of thought. They end up needing attention in the way of fixing storing and dealing with it. They become one more burden on our shoulders. Open your mind and heart to the actual world. You may realize you have so much more than you ever considered. All those horrible thoughts depleting your energy can be blown away as we plow through them. Fill your brain with lasting aspirations. Those wishes are just too profound to even explain. Don’t be afraid to unlock the present in the box and dare to actually look at it with new eyes be it kids, husbands wives friends or coworkers. Our treasures should brighten up our worst days.