Life Is Easy, Isn't It?
"Life is easy" seems easily understood intellectually. Take what
comes along with thanks and gratitude; the circumstances and
choices we make are perfect for us. All this feels right when
said in a contemplative atmosphere. But after a few doses of
life's reality, we have a difficult time bringing "life is easy"
to daily application. Loved ones with health problems, layoffs
and down-sizing, widespread terrorism, and random killings, all
cause us to choke a bit on the phrase.
But is life easy? Well, it can be. Deepak Chopra reminds us that
other natural beings simply are who they are. Birds do what
birds do, as do fish, dogs, deer, etc. They may be very busy
hunting food, rearing young, seeking safety, but they don't seem
to be stressed by it all. Grass grows and dies back, only to
grow again. Trees grow and spread, drop their seeds, shed their
leaves, and grow them again. Don't we all aspire to the easy
life? Aren't the benefits of it self explanatory; peace,
tranquility, harmony with our surroundings?
Then why is life hard for most of us? What prevents us from
sustaining a life is easy belief? Some of the harshness of life
stems from our one-dimensional view of success; don't we tend to
believe that to have more money, position, power, and friends is
to succeed? So we compete for our piece of the pie with everyone
around us. Accumulating more, and then protecting it, is hard
work. And once achieved, offers little satisfaction, only a
temporal glow of achievement until we are compelled to launch
another offensive of accumulation. There are flashes of insight
when we recognize that this effort isn't satisfying, doesn't
bring joy, and doesn't feel right as our purpose in life. But
then we tend to fall back into the race and put our doubts
behind us. Chasing a goal of accumulation is a lose-lose
situation. Those who achieve it join those still struggling,
both feeling unfulfilled.
Another reason that life seems so hard to us is that we try to
control the outcomes of our endeavors. We take ownership of a
specific result, and then when something else shows up we aren't
able to see the beauty of it because we feel that we've failed.
Renowned author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross tells us "You won't always
get what you want, but you always get what you need." Set your
goals and intentions, and work toward them, but take what comes
about as a perfect gift, just the result your soul requires.
The final obstacle to living the easy life, regardless of income
or situation, is that we forget we're immortal. We forget that
real life, the life of our soul, is eternal. My present physical
embodiment is only one of many. If I don't get it "right" this
time I have other chances. It's like getting an infinite number
of tries to make a free throw in basketball. No pressure, just
keep shooting until you score.
So do you want an easy life? Well, then choose it. Choose to be
at ease with life. Set your goals, declare your intentions, but
don't own specific results. Take what life brings to you as your
rightful gift, the perfect result for you at this time. There
was a time when I wanted a promotion to the next management
level. I saw that as a way to provide more of the leadership I
could give to more people. But it didn't happen, and that was
perfect. You see, with hindsight I saw that the brand of
leadership I can provide is better suited to the level I already
held. And what life did bring me was increasing insight and
competence in leadership at that level.
Now it isn't always easy to simply choose to be something. Even
though that's the most straightforward way, if a person isn't
used to it, isn't confident it can be done, it can seem
impossible. A hint from Lou Tice of The Pacific Institute may
help. The next time you're in a set of difficult circumstances,
the next time life seems very difficult, Lou suggests asking
this question, "What would this experience be like for me if
life were easy?" If you can see the results that would occur if
life were easy you'll be close to accepting that reality as a
possibility. Once you can visualize yourself in a situation
you're well on the way to achieving it.
In the past I often viewed life as a struggle. And of course, it
was because of my belief--just the same as if I prayed for life
to be a struggle, just the same as if I affirmed, "I am a person
who struggles with life." So affirm that life is easy. See the
world around you as a world where life is easy and watch it
become easier. And remember that life is eternal. Not everything
is riding on your shoulders this one time around.