You Gotta Have Both

"Ticktock" (repeatedly) says the clock, before I remove it from the kitchen and suddenly see the significance of such seemingly very small matters. If you have a loud ticking clock then get rid of it, at the least for the evening keep it in a sound proof room. The agitation and panic that accompanies this stressed out mindset, wanting "to make every second count" and live time efficiently comes with a terrible price which is simply inner peace of mind and the faith of believing that life in essence is essentially joyful, expansive and eternal.

The peace felt after removing that clock, at least temporarily, reminded me that the inner world of Spirit, of peace, love and deep understanding, is as essential to the material and physical as is the down to earth, nitty gritty, practical, matter at hand Materialism to Spirituality.

After thinking today that my thriving creative, spiritual and higher mental life (in activity/mind rooms 3, 6 & 9 respectively) must be put on hold; as it is a luxury given only to those thriving and not struggling to survive, I see that there is always a narrative and higher meaning amidst the heat of outgoing action, and it becomes more apparent as one removes the toxicity, excess, noise and external agitating elements, as much as humanly possible, the deep peace of silence and eternal life begin to feel more real, calming the fears, the intense anxieties and deep uncertainty. This is most essential to all material endeavors, namely individual health/well being AND material/financial self sufficiency.

Yet the flip side of this is that many/most of us choose a path of self-improvement, where the need to confront and correct personal character flaws (i.e. laziness, lack of discipline, bad attitude, etc...) is key. While it is true that I (too often) tend to feel most at home and gifted in the creative/intuitive/spiritual realm, I've up till now limited my capacities in this area by not focusing enough on the nitty gritty down to earth, hard and fast practical realities.

That same discipline and attention I give to self support and basic survival tasks (like finding more/better work opportunities, and living a active/healthy life) becomes an asset in all creative ventures that give this mundane reality feeling a sense of the expansive, ecstatic and truly authentic life.

In Light

Joel