Photo credit: Patrick Mayor on Unsplash
Do you sometimes feel left behind by the success of others?
As we scroll through social media images and posts of other people’s lives, we can get inundated by their success stories, health routines, spiritual awakenings and glowing reports. It can feel as if we’re lagging behind the crowd, waiting for our own breakthroughs.
When that happens – and it does happen to all of us – it’s time to remember the deeper truth that resides in all of us. We’re not broken and we’re not behind; we’re simply being called to go within.
Each one of us is on a unique journey that cannot be satisfied by the surface events of life. And once we turn toward our individual journey, we find that what we’re seeking has been inside us all along.
Through every breath, every season and every experience we have, this inner refuge has remained with us, always available to restore our peace and balance.
Spiritual teachings from many traditions have remind us that we are to be a light to the world and a lamp unto ourselves – not because the world lacks light, but because true joy can never come from outside ourselves. It arises from within, along with deep peace and reliable guidance, as we turn away from the ego noise in the external world to be with Presence within.
When we turn away from the endless distractions of the outer world, our hearts become still enough to recognize the presence of our Source within. That is where true meaning and fulfillment is found.
When I worked in hospice care, I often heard the stories of people who’d spent their entire lives chasing for happiness and fulfillment in their outer world, thinking that once they’d reached a certain goal, they’d find it. Some of them joined exclusive clubs for status, others chased after money, relationships or power; yet at the end of life, none of that mattered.
What I loved most was sitting with individuals who’d turned inward and started spending time with Presence, whether in meditation, prayer or contemplation. These precious beings shared how finding stillness awakened a deeper awareness within. They began to notice the beauty of small things, hearing birdsong more clearly, and awakening to a deep appreciation of all life.
Quiet times of self-reflection can lead to a life of profound emotional maturity and spiritual growth. Plato knew this secret when he recorded in his Apology that the unexamined life is not worth living. He understood that self-reflection is an essential step toward personal growth, becoming and fulfillment.
Turning inward can feel intimidating when we’ve spent a lifetime avoiding it. And yet, this is the essential first step toward peace; facing our wounds along with our fears, so they can be transformed by the healing power of Presence.
Peace doesn’t come from chasing after worldly achievements or from being more productive; it comes when we stop running from ourselves and our pain. When we finally turn within to face our deepest longings and desires, the Presence within starts reconciling us with our true identity as souls.
There is no savior in our outer world to deliver us from suffering; the path is walked from within. Peace comes when we allow this moment, and each present moment after this, to be enough. Nothing to resist, nothing to run from; simply being.
Peace, freedom and contentment are not gifts from outside ourselves; they are seeds already planted deep within the soil of our being. What’s needed to cultivate them is not more striving but gentle nurturing.
You’re not incomplete, you’re not too late, and you’re not behind. You’re already whole and have always been, dear soul! You may carry battle scars and grief, but within you also live immense sacred wisdom and potential. You’re already enough and your presence is enough.
The challenge is not to seek for more out there, but to turn to the sacred silence within and ask what you could discover here. As you turn within, notice the quiet way your heart continues to beat after all you’ve been through, and be grateful for its service.
Return to yourself, not as a project to fix, but as a friend to finally embrace your true self. This part of you has been patiently waiting beneath all the running, striving and busy distractions of life. When you come home to your true self, you’ll find there an essential part of you that’s been patiently waiting to welcome you back to your path, your truth and your peace.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve lost your way for a while to meet expectations of others or to seek their approval. What is important is that you come home to yourself; nurturing that precious flame of Presence that shapes the entire landscape of your life.
When you reach for the quiet strength of being authentic, you anchor yourself in your timeless, true identity. You don’t have to change your whole life overnight; just start listening inward one breath at a time and find the part of you that needs tending right now.
You’re not broken, and you’re not lagging behind; you’re simply being called inward. Remember that everything you’ve been seeking has been inside you all along. As you turn toward that, the quiet wisdom of Presence will restore you from within.
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