Others might see us as being in control, polished and sometimes even clever.
OUTWARDLY, WE CAN APPEAR SO CONFIDENT & SUCCESSFUL.
That’s however ‘a mask’: just our usual practiced responses and our deeply ingrained habits.
INWARDLY WE FEEL EMPTY AND UNFULFILLED.
Inside, we are unhappy & discontent. We are in inner turmoil with needs that we can’t quite recognize.
WE YEARN FOR A DEEP INNER PEACE.
We have not yet found what we truly need. Deep within us there exists a need – a need for fulfillment; a life purpose.
WE HAVE NOT YET FOUND OUR TRUE PURPOSE.
We have not found who we really are. We have not found our true inner self.
WE LIVE IN DENIAL OR AVOIDANCE OF OUR TRUE INNER NEEDS.
We work so hard at distracting ourselves from the true reality, the real situation. We are so convinced that our present way is right. We justify what we are doing to others and even to ourselves. We try to carry on in the same way.
WE RELY ON TEMPORARY MEASURES FOR OUR UN-EASE AND OUR DIS-EASE.
We alleviate the symptoms or just treat the superficial problem. We ignore the cause. We bribe and comfort ourselves with temporary rewards and transient pleasures.
WE SQUANDER OUR LIMITED TIME AND DRAIN OUR FINITE ENERGY.
Holding back our inner needs requires considerable wasted effort.
RESISTING THE INNER NEED FOR SELF-EXPRESSION CAUSES OUR UN-EASE.
Our Inner needs do not just stop. Finally we exhausted our defences. This is a recipe for a disaster – a crisis.
A CRISIS IS A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE OUR LIVES.
A crisis forces us to pause and re-evaluate ourselves. Hopefully we will use this opportunity to change.
WE CAN SEE A CRISIS AS A HUGE LOSS, OR AS A POSITIVE BREAKTHROUGH.
Too often we continue living the same way, and waste this precious opportunity.
SOMETIMES WE CAN REALIZE THE NEED TO CHANGE WITHOUT A CRISIS.
Sometimes understanding the nature of our chronic suffering and our deep dissatisfaction is enough for us to change.
INWARDLY WE YEARN FOR ANOTHER WAY, A NEW PATH … A NEW WAY.
However, our old patterns, our usual ways of doing things, are so strong.
CONSIDERABLE EFFORT IS REQUIRED TO BREAK FREE FROM OLD HABITS.
Our old ways become so established and they have become our comfort zone.
WE ARE ADDICTED TO OUR USUAL WAYS.
We are dependent on our usual life patterns, our old habits, our prior conditioning.
WE ARE ADDICTED… TO LIFE!
WE MANIFEST OUR DEPENDENT BEHAVIOUR!
We express so many aspects of our dependency: our attachment to material goods, our fear of going without and our need to have. Instead of gently and lovingly exhibiting our gift of life, like offering up a delicate flower … what do we do?
WE DESPERATELY CLING TO ALL; WE PERCEIVE IT IS OURS.
We selfishly grasp for more. We hide away all we have, in fear we might lose it, or have it taken away. We jealously guard and angrily defend all that we have. We fear we will lose something of value. We become anxious or worried because we can’t be sure what the future holds.
WE ARE ENVIOUS OF ANYONE WHO HAS WHAT WE WANT. We hate those who have taken what we perceive to be ours.
WE FEEL WE MUST ATTACH OURSELVES, IN SOME WAY, TO SOMETHING!
We feel what we are doing is right. We won’t easily change our way of living. We become rigid or fixated. We sacrifice our inner peace in exchange for this current way of living. We can’t seem to break free from this pattern. We are somehow dependent on it.
WE ARE ADDICTED… TO LIVING THIS WAY!
This blog is continued in the next part "ADDICTED TO LIFE: Part 3. What do we miss out on?"