EP 4 Permanent Joy Is Not in Things
The competitive nature of the world has programmed us to believe that we are separate individuals from one other. This is understandable when you consider that there are over 9 billion individuals on this planet.
The fact that we belong to ‘different’ families, neighbourhood, communities, countries and continents also confirm this belief. Even within families, we see more separateness of religion, political and philosophical leaning, and we even support different premier league teams.
But there is a force that runs through us all, making us behave as if we are ‘’one. ‘’ That force does not just connect us, but also directs and maintains the universe. The Universe operates within this force since it’s the Alpha and Omega.
This Force is what gives us the urge to seek pleasure, leading us to seek more, better, faster, brighter, sweeter, and bigger things. An urge or thirst that doesn’t seem to be quenched. Sometimes this urge is so powerful that we disregard others, fight, or even worse, kill in order to get more of what we want.
We fight sibling against sibling, community against community, and county against country, because we feel that we are better than those others, and we deserve to get all we can, before it is runs out.
It is this belief that creates idea of separateness. We feel that should have more than them, I should have more than him or her; or my children are better than other children.
But the more fill that vacuum with bigger house, better job, better clothes, better looks, better spouse, the more we feel unhappy and unfulfilled, and we keep on going for even bigger house, better job, latest fashion, more pleasure and luxury you name it, just to silence that demand from within.
We spend a lifetime of running around in cycles chasing mirages, whose allure literally vanishes when we grasp them. The thirst is never quenched.
This thirst refuses to go away because we are trying to quench a spiritual thirst physically which is impossible. A spiritual thirst can only be quenched spiritually.
As we have heard before, we are spiritual beings living in a physical body. The confusion comes when our ego tries to convince us that we are physical beings, with a spirit sometimes it even tries to convince us that the spirit doesn’t exist.
This physical world is an illusion… it’s not permanent, and that’s why its pleasures are fleeting. Here today, gone tomorrow. What actually seems tangible is not permanent, what is intangible – our spirit – lives forever. It is even a fallacy when we call it ‘’our’’ spirit, because we are the spirit. It’s the physical body that belongs to the Spirit.
Yes, that spirit is what is permanent.