Letting it go?

Buddhist wisdom says that in order to attain peace we need to:

1) Let go.

2) Let go of letting go. (letting go as an act to feed the ego)

Let me explain it through this beautiful story from Osho.

Osho once stayed with a devotee. During his conversations, devotee would often refer to the fact that he kicked a fortune of millions to be a devotee. He shared this under different pretexts every day.

Osho asked, “When did you renounce your fortune?”, “Thirty Years Ago”, devotee replied.

Osho said, “Your kick was not very effective or else there would be no need to be reminded of it time and again. Renunciation should have been the end of the matter. You kicked the fortune but the notion of your past fortune is still following you.”

When we let go of things and boast about our greatness in doing it, we haven’t really let anything go. We are just attached to something else.

Listening to our intuition

In a noisy world, it is easy to miss the signals that you get from within. Listening to the self requires us to detach, slow down and be intentional about listening to our internal dialogue.

Acting on your intuition may require you to go against the tide of expectations that world may have from you.

Listening to your intuition requires stillness. Acting on it requires courage.

The way you do it

You can do trivial things as if the world runs on your shoulders. Or you can do mighty things in spirit of playfulness.

It is our awareness that matters. Awareness enables us to choose our discretion towards our work.

Great work is always a reflection of joy that the creator pursues.

This quote by Ram Dass is a powerful reframe of how we see our work and life.

StoicNotes: Be Your Own Witness

In our need to belong, we sometimes rely too much on what others think of us. When we seek too much validation in external stuff – titles, pay packages, status, other people etc. – we stray away from who we truly are. We step away from that which is uniquely ours.

Epictetus prompts us to have an inner scorecard that we abide to. Do what truly brings us alive, be who we truly are and constantly seek clarity on these aspects while conducting ourselves.

The seeds you plant..

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In a world of instant gratification, be someone who plants seeds – of effort, of generosity, of making a difference to the self and others.

The rewards may not be instant and it doesn’t matter.

The mindset of planting seeds versus reaping rewards is a powerful one in itself.

Achieve, then move on!

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A related thought from Michael Wade:

“An excessive ego can be a chain that slows our advance. It can also resemble a curtain that keeps out the light. It can become a wall that causes us to see only our turf and not the larger expanse that should be our concern. It can poison relationships, cloud memories, and subvert judgment. “. Some of us never recover.”

Create

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We are taught to compete. Competition sets the upper bar for what you can achieve.

If you want to jump over that bar, you need to create. Do things differently and do different things.

Creating requires stepping away from competition and focusing on the game that is uniquely yours. A game where you bring your true, best, authentic self to the fore.

Competition is for amateurs. Professionals create.

Make Things..

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Excuses are easily accessible. You can cook them up. It’s always easier to blame external situations for our failures or lack of attempt. You can play a victim and soon, the world with sympathize with you.

On the other hand, effort to make things is also easily accessible once we get past our victim mindset. The locus of control is internal. The call it “Growth Mindset”.

Make things, not excuses.

Give More Than You Get..

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When you consistently deliver more value than you get, the universe finds a way to deliver more value back to you.

It’s not linear.

There is no instant gratification.

But it works.

The less we know..

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  • Be fluid with your knowledge.
  • Let it flow and grow.
  • Keep an open mind.
  • Let your perspectives evolve through diverse experiences.
  • Explore multiple disciplines.
  • Blend.
  • Share.
  • Learn continuously.

Enough

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Enough.. eludes us if we are blinded by ego and everything that feeds it (money, power, status, followers…).

Knowing what’s enough is the key to contentment, satisfaction and possibly happiness.

Motion is NOT Progress

Handwritten notes from my journal

“Never mistake motion for action,” said Ernest Hemingway.

The fact that we remain busy through the day doesn’t mean we are progressing.

Positive movement requires that we ruthlessly prioritize, step back to reflect, seek feedback from people we trust and act purposefully.

Less Comparison, More Compassion

Handwritten notes from my journal

As a kid, I once adamantly demanded some stuff that my friends had. My mom took me to the balcony and pointed at a nearby construction site where kids of the laborers were playing bare feet in scorching heat, and were still smiling.

I was taught that when our mind is clouded with comparison, look carefully at what we have and be grateful about it. Understand that each of us has been bestowed with unique gifts. The paths we take, our context, the way we look at life, our conditioning – everything is different. How can our destinations (and the speed at which we reach those destinations) be same?

In a world driven by comparison, be compassionate. Comparison steals the joy. The act of comparing is the act of undermining ourselves.

Less Comparison. More Compassion. More Gratitude.

The Real Work

It may be that when we no longer know what to do

we have come to our real work,

and that when we no longer know which way to go

we have come to our real journey.

The mind that is not baffled is not employed.

The impeded stream is the one that sings.

– Wendell Berry